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Title: Searches for light dark matter using condensed matter systems

Journal Article · · Reports on Progress in Physics

Identifying the nature of dark matter (DM) has long been a pressing question for particle physics. In the face of ever-more-powerful exclusions and null results from large-exposure searches for TeV-scale DM interacting with nuclei, a significant amount of attention has shifted to lighter (sub-GeV) DM candidates. Direct detection of the light DM in our galaxy by observing DM scattering off a target system requires new approaches compared to prior searches. Lighter DM particles have less available kinetic energy, and achieving a kinematic match between DM and the target mandates the proper treatment of collective excitations in condensed matter systems, such as charged quasiparticles or phonons. In this context, the condensed matter physics of the target material is crucial, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach. In this review, we provide a self-contained introduction to direct detection of keV–GeV DM with condensed matter systems. We give a brief survey of DM models and basics of condensed matter, while the bulk of the review deals with the theoretical treatment of DM-nucleon and DM-electron interactions. Here, we also review recent experimental developments in detector technology, and conclude with an outlook for the field of sub-GeV DM detection over the next decade.

Research Organization:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); University of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0015655; SC0019195
OSTI ID:
1979319
Journal Information:
Reports on Progress in Physics, Journal Name: Reports on Progress in Physics Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 85; ISSN 0034-4885
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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