Search

In a galactic halo like the Milky Way, bosonic dark matter particles lighter than about $30$ eV have a de Broglie wavelength larger than the average inter-particle separation and are therefore well described as a set of classical waves. This applies to, for instance, the QCD axion as well as to lighter axion-like particles such as fuzzy dark matter. We show that the interference of waves inside a halo inevitably leads to vortices, locations where chance destructive interference takes the density to zero. The phase of the wavefunction has non-trivial winding around these points. This can be interpreted as a non-zero velocity circulation, so that vortices are sites where the fluid velocity has a non-vanishing curl. Using analytic arguments and numerical simulations, we study the properties of vortices and show they have a number of universal features: (1) In three spatial dimensions, the generic defects take the form of vortex rings. (2) On average there is about one vortex ring per de Broglie volume and (3) generically only single winding ($\pm 1$) vortices are found in a realistic halo. (4) The density near a vortex scales as $r^2$ while the velocity goes as $1/r$, where $r$ is the distance to vortex. (5) A vortex segment moves at a velocity inversely proportional to its curvature scale so that smaller vortex rings move faster, allowing momentary motion exceeding escape velocity. We discuss observational/experimental signatures from vortices and, more broadly, wave interference. In the ultra-light regime, gravitational lensing by interference substructures leads to flux anomalies of $5-10 \%$ in strongly lensed systems. For QCD axions, vortices lead to a diminished signal in some detection experiments but not in others. We advocate the measurement of correlation functions by axion detection experiments as a way to probe and capitalize on the expected interference substructures., Comment: 61 pages, 11 figures. v2: minor edits. v3: minor changes

Direct detection of light dark matter (DM), below the GeV scale, through electron recoil can be efficient if DM has a velocity well above the virial value of $v\sim 10^{-3}$. We point out that if there is a long range attractive force sourced by bulk ordinary matter, i.e. baryons or electrons, DM can be accelerated towards the Earth and reach velocities $v\sim 0.1$ near the Earth's surface. In this "attractive scenario," all DM will be boosted to high velocities by the time it reaches direct detection apparatuses in laboratories. Furthermore, the attractive force leads to an enhanced DM number density at the Earth facilitating DM detection even more. We elucidate the implications of this scenario for electron recoil direct detection experiments and find parameters that could lead to potential signals, while being consistent with stellar cooling and other bounds. Our scenario can potentially explain the recent excess in electron recoil signals reported by the XENON1T experiment in the $\sim$ keV energy regime as well as the hint for non-standard stellar cooling., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, comments welcome; v2: 7 pages, 4 figures, model signal improved and additional hints considered, matches published version; v3: corrected typos in eqs. 3-4, results unchanged

This paper describes the design and performance of a compact detector, BDX-MINI, that incorporates all features of a concept that optimized the detection of light dark matter in the MeV-GeV mass range produced by electrons in a beam dump. It represents a reduced version of the future BDX experiment expected to run at JLAB. BDX-MINI was exposed to penetrating particles produced by a 2.176 GeV electron beam incident on the beam dump of Hall A at Jefferson Lab. The detector consists of 30.5 kg of PbWO$$_4$$ 4 crystals with sufficient material following the beam dump to eliminate all known particles except neutrinos. The crystals are read out using silicon photomultipliers. Completely surrounding the detector are a passive layer of tungsten and two active scintillator veto systems, which are also read out using silicon photomultipliers. The design was validated and the performance of the robust detector was shown to be stable during a six month period during which the detector was operated with minimal access.

A dark photon, one of the candidates of light dark matter, will be searched around 0.1 meV range by using a gyrotron. The use of a Transition Edge Sensor is the key of this experiment and the expected result is promising. This search will pave a way to future axion search using similar instruments., Comment: accepted by the 45th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves

Present experiments are sensitive to very weakly coupled extra gauge symmetries which motivates further investigation of their appearance in string theory compactifications and subsequent properties. We consider extensions of the standard model based on open strings ending on D-branes, with gauge bosons due to strings attached to stacks of D-branes and chiral matter due to strings stretching between intersecting D-branes. Assuming that the fundamental string mass scale saturates the current LHC limit and that the theory is weakly coupled, we show that (anomalous) $U(1)$ gauge bosons which propagate into the bulk are compelling light dark matter candidates. We comment on the possible relevance of the $U(1)$ gauge bosons, which are universal in intersecting D-brane models, to the observed $3\sigma$ excess in XENON1T., Comment: 7 pages. A few comments and references added. This version matches the one published in Physics Letters B

A gauged U(1)X symmetry appended to the Standard Model (SM) is particularly well motivated since it can account for the light neutrino masses by the seesaw mechanism, explain the origin of baryon asymmetry of the universe via leptogenesis, and help implement successful cosmological inflation with the U(1)X breaking Higgs field as the inflaton. In this framework, we propose a light dark matter (DM) scenario in which the U(1)X gauge boson Z′ behaves as a DM particle in the universe. We discuss how this scenario with Z′ mass of a few keV and a U(1)X gauge coupling gX≃10−16 can nicely fit the excess in the electronic recoil energy spectrum recently reported by the XENON1T collaboration. In order to reproduce the observed DM relic density in the presence of such a tiny gauge coupling, we propose an extension of the model to a two-component DM scenario. The Z′ DM density can be comparable to the observed DM density by the freeze-in mechanism through the coupling of Z′ boson to a partner Higgs-portal scalar DM with a large U(1)X charge.

This article presents an analysis and the resulting limits on light dark matter inelastically scattering off of electrons, and on dark photon and axion-like particle absorption, using a second-generation SuperCDMS high-voltage eV-resolution detector. The 0.93 gram Si detector achieved a 3 eV phonon energy resolution; for a detector bias of 100 V, this corresponds to a charge resolution of 3% of a single electron-hole pair. The energy spectrum is reported from a blind analysis with 1.2 gram-days of exposure acquired in an above-ground laboratory. With charge carrier trapping and impact ionization effects incorporated into the dark matter signal models, the dark matter-electron cross section $\bar{\sigma}_{e}$ is constrained for dark matter masses from 0.5--$10^{4} $MeV$/c^{2}$; in the mass range from 1.2--50 eV$/c^{2}$ the dark photon kinetic mixing parameter $\varepsilon$ and the axioelectric coupling constant $g_{ae}$ are constrained. The minimum 90% confidence-level upper limits within the above mentioned mass ranges are $\bar{\sigma}_{e}\,=\,8.7\times10^{-34}$ cm$^{2}$, $\varepsilon\,=\,3.3\times10^{-14}$, and $g_{ae}\,=\,1.0\times10^{-9}$., Comment: 5 pages + title and references, 3 figures and 1 table

The search for dark matter weakly interacting massive particles with noble liquids has probed masses down and below a GeV/c^2. The ultimate limit is represented by the experimental threshold on the energy transfer to the nuclear recoil. Currently, the experimental sensitivity has reached a threshold equivalent to a few ionization electrons. In these conditions, the contribution of a Bremsstrahlung photon or a so-called Migdal electron due to the sudden acceleration of a nucleus after a collision might be sizable. In the present work, we use a Bayesian approach to study how these effects can be exploited in experiments based on liquid argon detectors. In particular, taking inspiration from the DarkSide-50 public spectra, we develop a simulated experiment to show how the Migdal electron and the Bremsstrahlung photon allow to push the experimental sensitivity down to masses of 0.1 GeV/c^2, extending the search region for dark matter particles of previous results. For these masses we estimate the effect of the Earth shielding that, for strongly interacting dark matter, makes any detector blind. Finally, we show how the sensitivity scales for higher exposure., Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables

Hadronic showers transfer a relevant amount of their energy to electromagnetic subshowers. We show that the generation of "secondary" dark photons in these sub-showers is significant and typically dominates the production at low dark photon masses. The resulting dark photons are however substantially less energetic than the ones originating from mesons decay. We illustrate this point both semi-analytically and through Monte Carlo simulations. Existing limits on vector-mediator scenarios for light dark matter are updated with the inclusion of the new production processes., 22 pages, 14 figures, datasets available at https://zenodo.org/record/3890984. References added, matches version published in PRD

We reexamine the minimal Singlet + Triplet Scotogenic Model, where dark matter is the mediator of neutrino mass generation. We assume it to be a scalar WIMP, whose stability follows from the same $\mathbb{Z} _{2}$ symmetry that leads to the radiative origin of neutrino masses. The scheme is the minimal one that allows for solar and atmospheric mass scales to be generated. We perform a full numerical analysis of the signatures expected at dark matter as well as collider experiments. We identify parameter regions where dark matter predictions agree with theoretical and experimental constraints, such as neutrino oscillations, Higgs data, dark matter relic abundance and direct detection searches. We also present forecasts for near future direct and indirect detection experiments. These will further probe the parameter space. Finally, we explore collider signatures associated with the mono-jet channel at the LHC, highlighting the existence of a viable light dark matter mass range., Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, 2 appendices

Supernovae can produce vast fluxes of new particles with masses on the MeV scale, a mass scale of interest for models of light dark matter. When these new particles become diffusively trapped within the supernova, the escaping flux will emerge semirelativistic with an order-one spread in velocities. As a result, overlapping emissions from Galactic supernovae will produce an overall flux of these particles at Earth that is approximately constant in time. However, this flux is highly anisotropic and is steeply peaked towards the Galactic center. This is in contrast with the cosmological abundance of a WIMP-like dark matter which, due to the rotation of the Galaxy, appears to come from the direction of the Cygnus constellation. In this paper, we demonstrate the need for a directional detector to efficiently discriminate between a signal from a cold cosmological abundance of GeV-scale WIMPs and a signal from a hot population of supernova-produced MeV-scale dark matter., 15 pages, 4 figures

Light halo dark matter (DM) particles upscattered by high-energy cosmic rays (CRs) can be energetic, and become detectable by conventional direct detection experiments. The current constraints derived from space-based direct CR measurements can reach $\mathcal{O}(10^{-31})\text{ cm}^{2}$ for a constant DM-nucleon scattering cross section. We show that if the CR energy spectrum follows a power law of type $\sim E^{-3}$, the derived constraints on the scattering cross section will be highly insensitive to DM particle mass. This suggests that ultrahigh-energy CRs (UHECRs) indirectly measured by ground-based detectors can be used to place constraints on ultralight DM particles, as $E^{-3}$ is a very good approximation of the UHECR energy spectrum up to energy $\sim10^{20}\text{ eV}$. Using the recent UHECR flux data, we show that the current constraints derived from space-based CR measurements can in principle be extended to ultralight DM particles far below eV scale., 25 pages, 6 figures, match the publsied version

We review the current status of model building for light dark matter in theories of QCD-like gauge groups in the hidden sector. The focus is upon the dark mesons with the $SU(3)_V$ flavor symmetry in scenarios of Strongly Interacting Massive Particles. We show the production mechanism and the kinetic equilibrium condition for dark mesons and discuss a unitarization of dark chiral perturbation theory with vector mesons in the scheme of hidden gauge symmetry., 9 pages, no figures. Prepared for the European Physical Journal Special Topics, Review of Fundamental Composite Dynamics, v2: discussion expanded and typos corrected

We survey the sensitivity of past and present neutrino experiments to MeV-GeV scale dark matter, and find that these experiments possess novel sensitivity that has not yet fully explored. NO$\nu$A and BEBC are found to rule out the scalar thermal target for dark matter masses between 10 MeV to 100 MeV with existing data, while CHARM-II and MINER$\nu$A place somewhat weaker limits. These limits can be dramatically improved by off-axis searches using the NuMI beamline and the MicroBooNE, MiniBooNE or ICARUS detectors, and can even begin to probe the Majorana thermal target. We conclude that past and present neutrino facilities can search for light dark matter concurrently with their neutrino program and reach a competitive sensitivity to proposed future experiments., Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures. v2 Added additional references and a few additional comments

International audience; The NEWS-G collaboration is searching for light dark matter candidates using a spherical proportional counter. Access to the mass range from 0.1 to 10 GeV is enabled by the combination of low energy threshold, light gaseous targets, and radiopure construction. The current status of the experiment is presented, including the first NEWS-G results obtained with SEDINE, a 60 cm in diameter spherical proportional counter operating at LSM (France). The next generation, 140 cm in diameter, spherical proportional counter that is currently being installed in SNOLAB, Canada, is presented. Its construction at LSM, using C10100 copper and the electroplating of a 500 μm ultra-pure copper layer to the inner detector surface, will be discussed, along with the latest advances in instrumentation, simulation, and gas purification.

We present prospects for discovering dark matter scattering in gravitational wave detectors. The focus of this work is on light, particle dark matter with masses below 1 GeV/c$^{2}$. We investigate how a potential signal compares to typical backgrounds like thermal and quantum noise, first in a simple toy model and then using KAGRA as a realistic example. That shows that for a discovery much lighter and cooler mirrors would be needed. We also give some brief comments on space-based experiments and future atomic interferometers., 26 pages, 5 figures; version published in Eur. Phys. J. C

Neutrino and dark matter experiments with large-volume ($\gtrsim 1$ ton) detectors can provide excellent sensitivity to signals induced by energetic light dark matter coming from the present universe. Taking boosted dark matter as a concrete example of energetic light dark matter, we scrutinize two representative search channels, electron scattering and proton scattering including deep inelastic scattering processes, in the context of elastic and inelastic boosted dark matter, in a completely detector-independent manner. In this work, a dark gauge boson is adopted as the particle to mediate the interactions between the Standard Model particles and boosted dark matter. We find that the signal sensitivity of the two channels highly depends on the (mass-)parameter region to probe, so search strategies and channels should be designed sensibly especially at the earlier stage of experiments. In particular, the contribution from the boosted-dark-matter-initiated deep inelastic scattering can be subleading (important) compared to the quasi-elastic proton scattering, if the mass of the mediator is below (above) $\mathcal{O}$(GeV). We demonstrate how to practically perform searches and relevant analyses, employing example detectors such as DarkSide-20k, DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and DeepCore, with their respective detector specifications taken into consideration. For other potential detectors we provide a summary table, collecting relevant information, from which similar studies can be fulfilled readily., Comment: 47 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, Journal submission version

Direct detection experiments turn to lose sensitivity of searching for a sub-MeV light dark matter candidate due to the threshold of recoil energy. However, such light dark matter particles can be accelerated by energetic cosmic-rays such that they can be detected with existing detectors. We derive the constraints on the scattering of a boosted light dark matter and electron from the XENON100/1T experiment. We illustrate that the energy dependence of the cross section plays a crucial role in improving both the detection sensitivity and also the complementarity of direct detection and other experiments., 5 pages with supplements

Very recently, the Xenon1T collaboration has reported an intriguing electron recoil excess, which may imply for light dark matter. In order to interpret this anomaly, we propose the atmospheric dark matter (ADM) from the inelastic collision of cosmic rays (CRs) with the atmosphere. Due to the boost effect of high energy CRs, we show that the light ADM can be fast-moving and successfully fit the observed electron recoil spectrum through the ADM-electron scattering process. Meanwhile, our ADM predicts the scattering cross section $\sigma_e \sim {\cal O}(10^{-38}- 10^{-39}$) cm$^{2}$, and thus can evade other direct detection constraints. The search for light meson rare decays, such as $\eta \to \pi + \slashed E_T$, would provide a complementary probe of our ADM in the future., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, discussions and references added, version accepted by PRD

Data from Planck measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) place important constraints on models with light dark matter (DM) and light mediators especially when both lie in the mass range below $\sim 1 $ GeV. In models involving kinetic mixing where the dark photon acts as the mediator, these constraints are easily satisfied and the appropriate DM relic density achievable if the DM is, e.g., a complex scalar, where $p$-wave annihilation occurs, or is the lighter component of a split pseudo-Dirac state where co-annihilation dominates. In both of these cases, although higher order in the dark gauge coupling, $g_D$, the corresponding annihilation processes including dark photon initial state radiation (ISR) will be dominantly $s$-wave with essentially temperature independent cross sections. The rates for these dark ISR associated processes, though not yielding cross sections large enough to contribute to the relic density, can still run into possible conflicts with the bounds arising from the CMB. In this paper we perform a preliminary study of the present and potential future constraints that the CMB imposes on the parameter spaces for both of these scenarios due to the existence of this dark ISR. Further analyses of the effects of dark ISR in DM annihilation is clearly warranted., 19 pages, 7 figs; Reference added, minor text changes

The NEWS-G collaboration is searching for light dark matter candidates using a spherical proportional counter. Light gases, such as hydrogen, helium, and neon, are used as targets, providing access in the 0.1-10 GeV mass range. First results obtained with SEDINE, a 60 cm in diameter detector, in the Underground Laboratory of Modane yielded a 90% confidence level upper limit of 4.4x 10^{37} cm^2 on the nucleon-dark matter interaction cross-section for a candidate with 0.5 GeV mass. Recent developments in several aspects of the detector instrumentation are presented, along with the construction of a new, 140 cm in diameter, detector with new compact shielding., 10 pages, 10 figures, 15th Topical Seminar on Innovative Particle and Radiation Detectors, 14-17 October 2019, Siena, Italy

The SHiP Collaboration has proposed a general-purpose experimental facility operating in beam dump mode at the CERN SPS accelerator with the aim of searching for light, long-lived exotic particles of Hidden Sector models. The SHiP experiment incorporates a muon shield based on magnetic sweeping and two complementary apparatuses. The detector immediately downstream of the muon shield is optimised both for recoil signatures of light dark matter scattering and for tau neutrino physics, and consists of a spectrometer magnet housing a layered detector system with heavy target plates, emulsion film technology and electronic high precision tracking. The second detector system aims at measuring the visible decays of hidden sector particles to both fully reconstructible final states and to partially reconstructible final states with neutrinos, in a nearly background free environment. The detector consists of a 50 m long decay volume under vacuum followed by a spectrometer and particle identification with a rectangular acceptance of 5 m in width and 12 m in height. Using the high-intensity beam of 400 GeV protons, the experiment is capable of integrating $2\times10^{20}$ protons in five years, which allows probing dark photons, dark scalars and pseudo-scalars, and heavy neutrinos with GeV-scale masses at sensitivities that exceed those of existing and projected experiments. The sensitivity to heavy neutrinos will allow for the first time to probe, in the mass range between the kaon and the charm meson mass, a coupling range for which baryogenesis and active neutrino masses can be explained. The sensitivity to light dark matter reaches well below the elastic scalar dark matter relic density limits in the range from a few MeV/c$^{2}$ up to 200 MeV/c$^{2}$. The tau neutrino deep-inelastic scattering cross-sections will be measured with a statistics a thousand times larger than currently available data, with the extraction of the F4 and F5 structure functions, never measured so far, and allow for new tests of lepton non-universality with sensitivity to BSM physics. Following the review of the Technical Proposal, the CERN SPS Committee recommended in 2016 that the experiment and the beam dump facility studies proceed to a Comprehensive Design Study phase. These studies have resulted in a mature proposal submitted to the European Strategy for Particle Physics Update.

The SHiP Collaboration has proposed a general-purpose experimental facility operating in beam dump mode at the CERN SPS accelerator with the aim of searching for light, long-lived exotic particles of Hidden Sector models. The SHiP experiment incorporates a muon shield based on magnetic sweeping and two complementary apparatuses. The detector immediately downstream of the muon shield is optimized both for recoil signatures of light dark matter scattering and for tau neutrino physics. The second detector system aims at measuring the decays of hidden sector particles into the visible sector in a nearly background free environment. The detector consists of a 50 m long decay volume followed by a spectrometer and particle identification. Using the high-intensity beam of 400 GeV protons, the experiment is capable of integrating $2\times10^{20}$ protons in five years, which allows probing dark photons, dark scalars and pseudo-scalars, and heavy neutrinos with GeV-scale masses at unprecedented sensitivities. The sensitivity to heavy neutrinos will allow for the first time to probe, in the mass range between the kaon and the charm meson mass, a coupling range for which baryogenesis and active neutrino masses can be explained. Following the review of the Technical Proposal, the CERN SPS Committee recommended in 2016 that the experiment and the beam dump facility studies proceed to a Comprehensive Design Study phase. These studies have resulted in a mature proposal submitted to the European Strategy for Particle Physics Update.

We systematically study models with light scalar and pseudoscalar dark matter candidates and their potential signals at the LHC. First, we derive cosmological bounds on models with the Standard Model Higgs mediator and with a new weak-scale mediator. Next, we study two processes inspired by the indirect and direct detection process topologies, now happening inside the LHC detectors. We find that LHC can observe very light dark matter over a huge mass range if it is produced in mediator decays and then scatters with the detector material to generate jets in the nuclear recoil., 25 pages + appendices and references, 12 figures; v2: updated references, added discussion of triggers; v3: minor corrections; added paragraph on potential contribution to N_eff

Collective excitations in condensed matter systems, such as phonons and magnons, have recently been proposed as novel detection channels for light dark matter. We show that excitation of i) optical phonon polaritons in polar materials in an ${\mathcal O}$(1 T) magnetic field (via the axion-photon coupling), and ii) gapped magnons in magnetically ordered materials (via the axion wind coupling to the electron spin), can cover the difficult-to-reach ${\mathcal O}$(1-100) meV mass window of QCD axion dark matter with less than a kilogram-year exposure. Finding materials with a large number of optical phonon or magnon modes that can couple to the axion field is crucial, suggesting a program to search for a range of materials with different resonant energies and excitation selection rules; we outline the rules and discuss a few candidate targets, leaving a more exhaustive search for future work. Ongoing development of single photon, phonon and magnon detectors will provide the key for experimentally realizing the ideas presented here., 35 pages, 5 figures

The search for relativistic scattering signals of cosmogenic light dark matter at terrestrial detectors has received increasing attention as an alternative approach to probe dark-sector physics. Large-volume neutrino experiments are well motivated for searches of dark matter that interacts very weakly with Standard Model particles and/or that exhibits a small incoming flux. We perform a dedicated signal sensitivity study for a detector similar to the one proposed by the DUNE Collaboration for cosmogenic dark-matter signals resulting from a non-minimal multi-particle dark-sector scenario. The liquid argon time projection chamber technology adopted for the DUNE detectors is particularly suited for searching for complicated signatures owing to good measurement resolution and particle identification, as well as $dE/dx$ measurements to recognize merged tracks. Taking inelastic boosted dark matter as our benchmark scenario that allows for multiple visible particles in the final state, we demonstrate that the DUNE far detectors have a great potential for probing scattering signals induced by relativistic light dark matter. Detector effects and backgrounds have been estimated and taken into account. Model-dependent and model-independent expected sensitivity limits for a DUNE-like detector are presented., 35 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, journal published version

Germanium (Ge) detectors with ability of measuring a single electron-hole (e-h) pair are needed in searching for light dark matter (LDM) down to the MeV scale. We investigate the feasibility of Ge detectors with amorphous-Ge (a-Ge) contacts to achieve the sensitivity of measuring a single e-h pair, which requires extremely low leakage current. Three Ge detectors with a-Ge contacts are used to study the charge barrier height for blocking electrons and holes. Using the measured bulk leakage current and the D$\ddot{o}$hler-Brodsky model, we obtain the values for charge barrier height and the density of localized energy states near the Fermi energy level for the top and bottom contacts, respectively. We predict that the bulk leakage current is extremely small and can be neglected at helium temperature ($\sim$4 K). Thus, Ge detectors with a-Ge contacts possess the potential to measure a single e-h pair for detecting LDM particles., Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures

Scattering of light dark matter with sub-eV energy deposition can be detected with collective excitations in condensed matter systems. When dark matter has spin-independent couplings to atoms or ions, it has been shown to efficiently excite phonons. Here we show that, if dark matter couples to the electron spin, magnon excitations in materials with magnetic dipole order offer a promising detection path. We derive general formulae for single magnon excitation rates from dark matter scattering, and demonstrate as a proof of principle the projected reach of a yttrium iron garnet target for several dark matter models with spin-dependent interactions. This highlights the complementarity of various collective excitations in probing different dark matter interactions., 9 pages, 2 figures, 1 table; v2: clarification added, matches journal version

The direct detection of particle dark matter through its scattering with nucleons is of fundamental importance to understand the nature of DM. In this work, we propose that the high-energy neutrino detectors like IceCube can be used to uniquely probe the DM-nucleon cross-section for high-energy DM of $\sim$ PeV, up-scattered by the high-energy cosmic rays. We derive for the first time strong constraints on the DM-nucleon cross-section down to $\sim 10^{-32}$ cm$^2$ at this energy scale for sub-GeV DM candidates. Such independent probe at energy scale far exceeding other existing direct detection experiments can therefore provide useful insights complementary to other searches., 16 pages, 6 figures. Published version

Fixed-target experiments using primary electron beams can be powerful discovery tools for light dark matter in the sub-GeV mass range. The Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX) is designed to measure missing momentum in high-rate electron fixed-target reactions with beam energies of 4 GeV to 16 GeV. A prerequisite for achieving several important sensitivity milestones is the capability to efficiently reject backgrounds associated with few-GeV bremsstrahlung, by twelve orders of magnitude, while maintaining high efficiency for signal. The primary challenge arises from events with photo-nuclear reactions faking the missing-momentum property of a dark matter signal. We present a methodology developed for the LDMX detector concept that is capable of the required rejection. By employing a detailed Geant4-based model of the detector response, we demonstrate that the sampling calorimetry proposed for LDMX can achieve better than 10 −13 rejection of few-GeV photons. This suggests that the luminosity-limited sensitivity of LDMX can be realized at 4 GeV and higher beam energies.

The NA64 experiment consists of two detectors which are planned to be located at the electron (NA64e) and muon (NA64$\mu$) beams of the CERN SPS and start operation after the LHC long-stop 2 in 2021. Its main goals include searches for dark sector physics - particularly light dark matter (LDM), visible and invisible decays of dark photons ($A'$), and new light particles that could explain the $^8$Be and $g_{\mu}-2$ anomalies. Here we review these physics goals, the current status of NA64 including recent results and perspectives of further searches, as well as other ongoing or planned experiments in this field. The main theoretical results on LDM, the problem of the origin of the $\gamma-A'$ mixing term and its connection to loop corrections, possible existence of a new light $Z'$ coupled to $L_\mu-L_\tau$ current are also discussed., Comment: 49 pages, 13 figures, to be published in PEPAN journal

First ever measurements of the ratios of free cyclotron frequencies of heavy, highly charged ions with Z>50 with relative uncertainties close to 10^{-11} are presented. Such accurate measurements have become realistic due to the construction of the novel cryogenic multi-Penning-trap mass spectrometer PENTATRAP. Based on the measured frequency ratios, the mass differences of five pairs of stable xenon isotopes, ranging from ^{126}Xe to ^{134}Xe, have been determined. Moreover, the first direct measurement of an electron binding energy in a heavy highly charged ion, namely of the 37th atomic electron in xenon, with an uncertainty of a few eV is demonstrated. The obtained value agrees with the calculated one using two independent, different implementations of the multiconfiguration Dirac-Hartree-Fock method. PENTATRAP opens the door to future measurements of electron binding energies in highly charged heavy ions for more stringent tests of bound-state quantum electrodynamics in strong electromagnetic fields and for an investigation of the manifestation of light dark matter in isotopic chains of certain chemical elements.

We consider a model of sub-GeV dark matter whose interaction with the Standard Model is mediated by a new vector boson (the dark photon) which couples kinetically to the photon. We describe the possibility of constraining such a model using a superfluid He-4 detector, by means of an effective theory for the description of the superfluid phonon. We find that such a detector could provide bounds that are competitive with other direct detection experiments only for ultralight vector mediator, in agreement with previous studies. As a byproduct we also present, for the first time, the low-energy effective field theory for the interaction between photons and phonons., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; v2: references and comments added to match the published version

Direct detection experiments for light dark matter are making enormous leaps in reaching previously unexplored model space. Several recent proposals rely on collective excitations, where the experimental sensitivity is highly dependent on detailed properties of the target material, well beyond just nucleus mass numbers as in conventional searches. It is thus important to optimize the target choice when considering which experiment to build. We carry out a comparative study of target materials across several detection channels, focusing on electron transitions and single (acoustic or optical) phonon excitations in crystals, as well as the traditional nuclear recoils. We compare materials currently in use in nuclear recoil experiments (Si, Ge, NaI, CsI, CaWO$_4$), a few which have been proposed for light dark matter experiments (GaAs, Al$_2$O$_3$, diamond), as well as 16 other promising polar crystals across all detection channels. We find that target- and dark matter model-dependent reach is largely determined by a small number of material parameters: speed of sound, electronic band gap, mass number, Born effective charge, high frequency dielectric constant, and optical phonon energies. We showcase, for each of the two benchmark models, an exemplary material which has a better reach than in any currently proposed experiment., 28 pages, 18 figures. Updated constraint projections in figures with PhonoDark v1.1.0 (phonodark.caltech.edu)

We show that a thermal relic which decouples from the standard model (SM) plasma while relativistic can be a viable dark matter (DM) candidate, if the decoupling is followed by a period of entropy dilution that heats up the SM, but not the dark sector. Such diluted hot relics can be as light as a keV, while accounting for the entirety of the DM, and not conflicting with cosmological and astrophysical measurements. The requisite dilution can be achieved via decays of a heavy state that dominates the energy budget of the universe in the early matter dominated era. The heavy state decays into the SM particles, heats up the SM plasma, and dilutes the hidden sector. The interaction required to equilibrate the two sectors in the early universe places a bound on the maximum possible dilution as a function of the decoupling temperature. As an example of diluted hot relic DM we consider a light Dirac fermion with a heavy dark photon mediator. We present constraints on the model from terrestrial experiments (current and future), astrophysics, and cosmology., 38 pages, 8 figures, to be published in JHEP, v2: ref added, substantial revisions in free-streaming constraints, minor revisions elsewhere

The ultralight scalar fields can arise ubiquitously, for instance, as a result of the spontaneous breaking of an approximate symmetry such as the axion and, more generally, the axionlike particles. In addition to the particle physics motivations, these particles can also play a major role in cosmology by contributing to dark matter abundance and affecting the structure formation at sub-Mpc scales. In this paper, we propose to use the 21 cm forest observations to probe the nature of ultralight dark matter. The 21 cm forest is the system of narrow absorption lines appearing in the spectra of high redshift background sources due to the intervening neutral hydrogen atoms, similar to the Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest. Such features are expected to be caused by the dense neutral hydrogen atoms in a small starless collapsed object called a minihalo. The 21 cm forest can probe much smaller scales than the Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest, that is, $k\ensuremath{\gtrsim}10\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. We explore the range of the ultralight dark matter mass ${m}_{u}$ and ${f}_{u}$, the fraction of ultralight dark matter with respect to the total matter, which can be probed by the 21 cm forest. We find that 21 cm forest can potentially put the dark matter mass lower bound ${m}_{u}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}18}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$ for ${f}_{u}=1$, which is a 3 orders of magnitude bigger mass scale than those probed by the current Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest observations. While the effects of the ultralight particles on the structure formation become smaller when the dominant component of dark matter is composed of the conventional cold dark matter, we find that the 21 cm forest is still powerful enough to probe the subcomponent ultralight dark matter mass up to the order of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}19}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$. The Fisher matrix analysis shows that $({m}_{u},{f}_{u})\ensuremath{\sim}({10}^{\ensuremath{-}20}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV},0.3)$ is the most optimal parameter set which the 21 cm forest can probe with the minimal errors for a subcomponent ultralight dark matter scenario.

Dark matter direct detection experiments have limited sensitivity to light dark matter (below a few GeV), due to the challenges of lowering energy thresholds for the detection of nuclear recoil to below $\mathcal{O}(\mathrm{keV})$. While impressive progress has been made on this front, light dark matter remains the least constrained region of dark-matter parameter space. It has been shown that both ionization and excitation due to the Migdal effect and coherently-emitted photon bremsstrahlung from the recoiling atom can provide observable channels for light dark matter that would otherwise have been missed owing to the resulting nuclear recoil falling below the detector threshold. In this paper we extend previous work by calculating the Migdal effect and photon bremmstrahlung rates for a general set of interaction types, including those that are momentum-independent or -dependent, spin-independent or -dependent, as well as examining the rates for a variety of target materials, allowing us to place new experimental limits on some of these interaction types. Additionally, we include a calculation of these effects induced by the coherent scattering on nuclei of solar or atmospheric neutrinos. We demonstrate that the Migdal effect dominates over the bremsstrahlung effect for all targets considered for interactions induced by either dark matter or neutrinos. This reduces photon bremsstrahlung to irrelevancy for future direct detection experiments., 17 pages, 6 figures

We present a novel mechanism of using solar neutrinos to speed up dark matter, inspired by the fact that neutrinos are the most energetic particles from the Sun with a well-understood spectrum. In a neutrino portal dark sector model, we show that dark matter with sub-GeV mass could be accelerated by the $pp$ neutrinos to velocities well above $10^{-3}c$ and capable of depositing large enough energy at direct detection experiments. A crucial ingredient of this mechanism is the dissociation of stable dark matter bound states that exist in Nature. The resulting dark matter velocity distribution bears a strong resemblance in shape to the solar neutrino spectrum. As an application, we derive a leading limit on light dark matter interaction by reinterpreting a recent PICO experiment result., 10 pages, 3 figures. Final version to appear in PTEP

The decay of orbital period of a compact binary system (neutron star-neutron star, neutron star-white dwarf) is primarily due to gravitational wave radiation which agrees with the observation. However, there is about one percent mismatch with the GR prediction. In this paper we consider the radiation of axion like particles (ALPs) which can contribute about one percent of the observed decay of the orbital period. If a compact star is immersed in such a low mass axionic potential, it develops a long range field outside the star. For ALPs radiation to take place, the mass of those particles should be less than the orbital frequency of the periodic motion of the binary system. This implies, for most of the observed binaries, particles with mass \(m_a< 10^{-19}eV\) can be radiated which includes fuzzy dark matter (FDM) particles. In this paper, we consider four compact binary systems and we obtain bound on axion decay constant, \(f_a\lesssim \mathcal {O}(10^{11}GeV)\) from the observation of orbital period decay. This implies that if ALPs has to be FDM then they do not couple with gluons.

We propose a simple mechanism of light dark matter (DM) production from the decay of the oscillating inflaton condensation. If the reheating temperature after inflation is higher than the inflaton mass, which is of the same order of the momentum of the DM at the time of the production, the DM momentum can be suppressed compared to the temperature of the thermal plasma if the interaction of the DM is weak enough. Consequently, the DM can be cold enough to avoid the observational constraints on the warm DM, like the Lyman-$\alpha$ bound even if the DM mass is small. We study the bosonic and fermionic DM production from the inflaton decay, taking into account the effect of the stimulated emission and Pauli blocking, respectively. In both cases, the DM can be cold and abundant enough to be a viable candidate of the DM. We also apply our mechanism to the production of isocurvature-problem-free axion DM and Dirac sea DM of right-handed neutrino consistent the seesaw relation for the active neutrino masses., Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures; version to appear in JHEP

Several astrophysical observations show that about 85% of the entire universe consists of dark matter, the origin of which is unknown. Observations particularly from PAMELA, AMS, etc. have triggered light dark matter and dark sector scenarios (Adriani et al. (PAMELA Collab.) in Natue (London) 458:607, 2009, [1]). Attempts to formulate a unified theoretical framework to explain these observations have led to dark sector models. Some of the recent results for searches involving dark photons and dark-sector particles from the CMS experiment is presented Some of the recent results for searches involving dark photons and dark-sector particles from the CMS experiment is presented [2].

Fixed target missing-momentum experiments such as LDMX and M$^3$ are powerful probes of light dark matter and other light, weakly coupled particles beyond the Standard Model (SM). Such experiments involve $\sim$ 10 GeV beam particles whose energy and momentum are individually measured before and after passing through a suitably thin target. If new states are radiatively produced in the target, the recoiling beam particle loses a large fraction of its initial momentum, and no SM particles are observed in a downstream veto detector. We explore how such experiments can use kinematic variables and experimental parameters, such as beam energy and polarization, to measure properties of the radiated particles and discriminate between models if a signal is discovered. In particular, the transverse momentum of recoiling particles is shown to be a powerful tool to measure the masses of new radiated states, offering significantly better discriminating ability compared to the recoil energy alone. We further illustrate how variations in beam energy, polarization, and lepton flavor (i.e., electron or muon) can be used to disentangle the possible the Lorentz structure of the new interactions., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, 1 appendix

The semi-constrained NMSSM (scNMSSM), or NMSSM with non-universal Higgs masses, can naturally predict a light dark matter under current constraints including Higgs data, sparticle-mass bounds, dark matter searches, and muon g-2, etc. In this work, we take this scenario of scNMSSM as an example to study the funnel-annihilation mechanisms of light dark matter ($1\!\thicksim\!62$ GeV) and the invisible Higgs decay. In this scenario we found that: (i) There can be four funnel-annihilation mechanisms for the LSP $\tilde{\chi}^0_1$, which are the $h_2$, $Z$, $h_1$ and $a_1$ funnel. (ii) For the $h_1$ and $a_1$ funnel with right relic density, the $\tilde{\chi}^0_1$ mass is lighter than 12 GeV, and the invisible Higgs decay can be $2\%$ at most. (iii) For the $h_2$ and $Z$ funnel with right relic density, the invisible Higgs decay can be about $0.4\%$ and $1\%$ respectively at most. (iv) If the invisible Higgs decay was discovered at the HL-LHC, the four funnel-annihilation mechanisms of light dark matter may be all excluded with $\tilde{\chi}^0_1$ as the only dark matter source. Four benchmark points, one for each mechanism, are proposed for future checking with updated experimental results., Comment: Version accepted by PRD, English improved

We study the possibility to directly detect the boosted dark matter generated from the scatterings with high energetic cosmic particles such as protons and electrons. As a concrete example, we consider the sub-GeV dark matter mediated by a $U(1)_D$ gauge boson which has mixing with $U(1)_Y$ gauge boson in the standard model. The enhanced kinetic energy of the light dark matter from the collision with the cosmic rays can recoil the target nucleus and electron in the underground direct detection experiments transferring enough energy to them to be detectable. We show the impact of BDM with existing direct detection experiments as well as collider and beam-dump experiments., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted version by PRD

We reexamine the minimal Singlet + Triplet Scotogenic Model, where dark matter is the mediator of neutrino mass generation. We assume it to be a scalar WIMP, whose stability follows from the same $\mathbb{Z} _{2}$ symmetry that leads to the radiative origin of neutrino masses. The scheme is the minimal one that allows for solar and atmospheric mass scales to be generated. We perform a full numerical analysis of the signatures expected at dark matter as well as collider experiments. We identify parameter regions where dark matter predictions agree with theoretical and experimental constraints, such as neutrino oscillations, Higgs data, dark matter relic abundance and direct detection searches. We also present forecasts for near future direct and indirect detection experiments. These will further probe the parameter space. Finally, we explore collider signatures associated with the mono-jet channel at the LHC, highlighting the existence of a viable light dark matter mass range.

Traditional direct searches for dark matter, looking for nuclear recoils in deep underground detectors, are challenged by an almost complete loss of sensitivity for light dark matter particles. Consequently, there is a significant effort in the community to devise new methods and experiments to overcome these difficulties, constantly pushing the limits of the lowest dark matter mass that can be probed this way. From a model-building perspective, the scattering of sub-GeV dark matter on nucleons essentially must proceed via new light mediator particles, given that collider searches place extremely stringent bounds on contact-type interactions. Here we present an updated compilation of relevant limits for the case of a scalar mediator, including a new estimate of the near-future sensitivity of the NA62 experiment as well as a detailed evaluation of the model-specific limits from Big Bang nucleosynthesis. We also derive updated and more general limits on DM particles upscattered by cosmic rays, applicable to arbitrary energy- and momentum dependences of the scattering cross section. Finally we stress that dark matter self-interactions, when evaluated beyond the common s-wave approximation, place stringent limits independently of the dark matter production mechanism. These are, for the relevant parameter space, generically comparable to those that apply in the commonly studied freeze-out case. We conclude that the combination of existing (or expected) constraints from accelerators and astrophysics, combined with cosmological requirements, puts robust limits on the maximally possible nuclear scattering rate. In most regions of parameter space these are at least competitive with the best projected limits from currently planned direct detection experiments., Comment: 39 pages, 7 figures; matches the published version

Ultra light particles of mass \(m\lesssim 10^{-19}\mathrm {eV}\) can be probed from binary pulsar timing experiments if they are radiated from compact binary systems such as neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS) and neutron star-white dwarf (NS-WD) binary systems. The orbital period decay of the compact binary system is mainly due to gravitational wave radiation which matches with the observational data to within one percent accuracy. Ultra light particles can also emit from the compact binary systems and contribute to about one percent of the observed orbital period decay. For radiation, the mass of the ultra light particles should be less than the orbital frequency of the binary system. In this paper, we consider massless scalar or ultralight pseudoscalar axion like particles radiate from compact binary systems and put bounds on the coupling constant from pulsar timing data. These ultra light particles can be a candidate of fuzzy dark matter (FDM) and from the constraints of NS-WD, we conclude that if ALPs are FDM, then they do not couple with quarks. Astrophysical objects like neutron stars contain muons and they can mediate long range \(L_\mu -L_\tau \) force between the compact binary systems. The ultra light vector gauge bosons can also radiate from the binary systems and contribute to the orbital period decay.