Phonon background from gamma rays in sub-GeV dark matter detectors
Abstract
High-energy photons with $$\mathscr{O}$$(MeV) energies from radioactive contaminants can scatter in a solid-state target material and constitute an important low-energy background for sub-GeV dark matter direct-detection searches. This background is most noticeable for energy deposits in the 1–100 meV range due to the partially coherent scattering enhancement in the forward scattering direction. We comprehensively quantify the resulting single- and multiphonon background in Si, Ge, GaAs, SiC, and Al2O3 target materials, which are representative of target materials of interest in low-mass dark matter searches. We use a realistic representation of the high-energy photon background, and contrast the expected background phonon spectrum with the expected dark matter signal phonon spectrum. An active veto is needed to suppress this background sufficiently in order to allow for the detection of a dark matter signal, even in well-shielded environments. For comparison we also show the expected single- and multiphonon event rates from coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering due to solar neutrinos, and find that they are subdominant to the photon-induced phonon background.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States); Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States); Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF); US-Israel Binational Science Foundation; Israel Science Foundation; Binational Science Foundation; I-CORE Program; Azrieli Foundation
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1877433
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1980143
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0009854; SC0009919; SC0022104; PHYS-1915093; 623940; 2020220; 1112/17; 2016155; 1937/12
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review D
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Physical Review D Journal Volume: 106 Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2470-0010
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; electroweak interaction; particle dark matter; particle Interactions; photons; cosmic ray and astroparticle detectors; neutrino detectors; particle detectors; solid-state detectors
Citation Formats
Berghaus, Kim V., Essig, Rouven, Hochberg, Yonit, Shoji, Yutaro, and Sholapurkar, Mukul. Phonon background from gamma rays in sub-GeV dark matter detectors. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.106.023026.
Berghaus, Kim V., Essig, Rouven, Hochberg, Yonit, Shoji, Yutaro, & Sholapurkar, Mukul. Phonon background from gamma rays in sub-GeV dark matter detectors. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.106.023026
Berghaus, Kim V., Essig, Rouven, Hochberg, Yonit, Shoji, Yutaro, and Sholapurkar, Mukul. Fri .
"Phonon background from gamma rays in sub-GeV dark matter detectors". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.106.023026.
@article{osti_1877433,
title = {Phonon background from gamma rays in sub-GeV dark matter detectors},
author = {Berghaus, Kim V. and Essig, Rouven and Hochberg, Yonit and Shoji, Yutaro and Sholapurkar, Mukul},
abstractNote = {High-energy photons with $\mathscr{O}$(MeV) energies from radioactive contaminants can scatter in a solid-state target material and constitute an important low-energy background for sub-GeV dark matter direct-detection searches. This background is most noticeable for energy deposits in the 1–100 meV range due to the partially coherent scattering enhancement in the forward scattering direction. We comprehensively quantify the resulting single- and multiphonon background in Si, Ge, GaAs, SiC, and Al2O3 target materials, which are representative of target materials of interest in low-mass dark matter searches. We use a realistic representation of the high-energy photon background, and contrast the expected background phonon spectrum with the expected dark matter signal phonon spectrum. An active veto is needed to suppress this background sufficiently in order to allow for the detection of a dark matter signal, even in well-shielded environments. For comparison we also show the expected single- and multiphonon event rates from coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering due to solar neutrinos, and find that they are subdominant to the photon-induced phonon background.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevD.106.023026},
journal = {Physical Review D},
number = 2,
volume = 106,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Fri Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}
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