1. Pressure-Tunable Targets for Light Dark Matter Direct Detection: The Case of Solid Helium
- Author
-
Ashour, Omar A. and Griffin, Sinéad M.
- Subjects
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology ,Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics ,Condensed Matter - Materials Science ,Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors - Abstract
We propose hydrostatic pressure -- a well-established tool for tuning properties of condensed matter -- as a novel route for optimizing targets for light dark matter direct detection, specifically via phonons. Pressure dramatically affects compressible solids by boosting the speed of sound and phonon frequencies. Focusing on helium -- the most compressible solid -- our ab initio calculations illustrate how high pressure elevates helium from lacking single-phonon reach to rivaling leading candidates. Our work establishes pressure as an unexplored tuning knob for accessing lower dark matter mass regimes., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, plus supplemental. Supplemental materials PDF available with source files
- Published
- 2024