Search

We report results of a search for dark-matter-nucleon interactions via a dark mediator using optimized low-energy data from the PandaX-4T liquid xenon experiment. With the ionization-signal-only data and utilizing the Migdal effect, we set the most stringent limits on the cross section for dark matter masses ranging from 30~$\rm{MeV/c^2}$ to 2~$\rm{GeV/c^2}$. Under the assumption that the dark mediator is a dark photon that decays into scalar dark matter pairs in the early Universe, we rule out significant parameter space of such thermal relic dark-matter model., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Hydrogel adhesion that can be easily modulated in magnitude, space, and time is desirable in many emerging applications ranging from tissue engineering, and soft robotics, to wearable devices. In synthetic materials, these complex adhesion behaviors are often achieved individually with mechanisms and apparatus that are difficult to integrate. Here, we report a universal strategy to embody multifaceted adhesion programmability in synthetic hydrogels. By designing the surface network topology of a hydrogel, supramolecular linkages that result in contrasting adhesion behaviors are formed on the hydrogel interface. The incorporation of different topological linkages leads to dynamically tunable adhesion with high-resolution spatial programmability without alteration of bulk mechanics and chemistry. Further, the association of linkages enables stable and tunable adhesion kinetics that can be tailored to suit different applications. We rationalize the physics of chain slippage, rupture, and diffusion that underpins emergent programmable behaviors. We then incorporate the strategy into the designs of various devices such as smart wound patches, fluidic channels, drug-eluting devices, and reconfigurable soft robotics. Our study presents a simple and robust platform in which adhesion controllability in multiple aspects can be easily integrated into a single design of a hydrogel network.

Paired comparison models are used for analyzing data that involves pairwise comparisons among a set of objects. When the outcomes of the pairwise comparisons have no ties, the paired comparison models can be generalized as a class of binary response models. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and their corresponding areas under the curves are commonly used as performance metrics to evaluate the discriminating ability of binary response models. Despite their individual wide range of usage and their close connection to binary response models, ROC analysis to our knowledge has never been extended to paired comparison models since the problem of using different objects as the reference in paired comparison models prevents traditional ROC approach from generating unambiguous and interpretable curves. We focus on addressing this problem by proposing two novel methods to construct ROC curves for paired comparison data which provide interpretable statistics and maintain desired asymptotic properties. The methods are then applied and analyzed on head-to-head professional sports competition data.

Self-interacting Dark Matter (SIDM) is a leading candidate proposed to solve discrepancies between predictions of the prevailing cold dark matter theory and observations of galaxies. Many SIDM models predict the existence of a light force carrier that mediate strong dark matter self-interactions. If the mediator couples to the standard model particles, it could produce characteristic signals in dark matter direct detection experiments. We report searches for SIDM models with a light mediator using the full dataset of the PandaX-II experiment, based on a total exposure of 132 tonne-days. No significant excess over background is found, and our likelihood analysis leads to a strong upper limit on the dark matter-nucleon coupling strength. We further combine the PandaX-II constraints and those from observations of the light element abundances in the early universe, and show that direct detection and cosmological probes can provide complementary constraints on dark matter models with a light mediator., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

If dark matter particle can be decelerated due to its dissipative self scattering, except for sinking at the galaxy scale to speed up structure formation, it can also be accreted onto local celestial bodies such as the Sun, forming a compact halo. With some simplified assumptions we develop the Boltzmann equation set based on the partition function of the elliptical orbits, and numerically solve it for the accretion process. We find that the orbited dark matter particles will form a halo around the Sun, with the density profile well fitted to be proportional to $r^{-1.6}$ in a wide range of radius. While around the earth such local halo contribution is always several orders below the galactic component, in a very small region centered around the Sun the sunk dark matter particles can lead to a halo density several orders larger than the background galactic component, in particular in the parameter region of small deceleration speed and large cross section, which is still consistent with current constraints. Such potential dark matter local halo with significantly enhanced density will be a very interesting source for dark matter indirect detection if the corresponding channel exists, we discuss the possibility of the gamma-ray spectrum in the solar direction in some detail as an example., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures

Dissipative dark matter self-interactions can affect halo evolution and change its structure. We perform a series of controlled N-body simulations to study impacts of the dissipative interactions on halo properties. The interplay between gravitational contraction and collisional dissipation can significantly speed up the onset of gravothermal collapse, resulting in a steep inner density profile. For reasonable choices of model parameters controlling the dissipation, the collapse timescale can be a factor of 10-100 shorter than that predicted in purely elastic self-interacting dark matter. The effect is maximized when energy loss per collision is comparable to characteristic kinetic energy of dark matter particles in the halo. Our simulations provide guidance for testing the dissipative nature of dark matter with astrophysical observations., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures

If dark matter has even been in sufficient thermal contact with the visible sector and sufficiently light ($m_\chi\lesssim\mathcal{O}(10)~\text{keV}$), the thermal motion inherited from the visible sector will cause significant free streaming effect which is subject to the structure formation constraint, similar to the benchmark thermal warm dark matter model. Here we identify the interaction responsible for such thermal contact to be the interaction probed by the deep underground dark matter direct detection experiments. With the kinetic decoupling technique on the $m_\chi$ vs. $\sigma$ plot we determine the bound shape in detail, and find that recasting the current Lyman-$\alpha$ bound gives a constraint of $m_\chi\gtrsim73~\text{keV}$, and it gets relaxed to $m_\chi\gtrsim35~\text{keV}$ for a smaller cross section of $\sigma<10^{-46}~\text{cm}^2$ with some model dependence. That can be taken as a generic ``no go'' constraint for light dark matter direct detection experiments, and the known caveats are if dark matter is axion-like with an early Bose-Einstein condensation form, or if there is Brownian motion protection of the free streaming., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures

We study the free-streaming effect in a light freeze-in dark matter model. Naturally in the dark sector one can find dark matter related coupling, and such coupling may induce dark matter self-scattering. In case that such scattering is subdominant, the dark matter partition function is not thermal but determined by the freeze-in process, yet its high momentum side is generally also Boltzmann suppressed. We show that the matter power spectrum is very similar to a warm dark matter one in shape. When matched to the current WDM bound, a $24$~keV freeze-in dark matter is ruled out at $2\sigma$ confidence level. In case that the dark matter self-scattering is strong and decouples at a very late time, by a new numerical calculation we show that the early stage Brownian motion indeed protects the power spectrum against free-streaming suppression. However, such an effect cannot be characterized by a free-streaming length alone; we find that the self-scattering decoupling time is another necessary parameter. The currently interested dark matter self-interaction cross section $\sim\text{cm}^2/\text{g}$ is just marginal for such protection to be effective., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Version published on PLB

The recent observation of the ultra-diffuse galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 shows a galaxy may lack dark matter. Usually dark matter is much more abundant than stellar in galaxy environment. This dark matter to baryon mass ratio is generally larger than the cosmological ratio of about five, since a significant part of baryon is diffused in the form of intergalactic medium. How to achieve such a low dark matter to baryon mass ratio is a challenge to the standard galaxy formation mechanism. Here we show that such a low ratio can be a natural consequence if the NGC 1052-DF2 had experienced a single passage within a few kpcs to the center of galaxy NGC 1052. The tidal effect of NGC 1052 in the encounter will heat the NGC 1052-DF2 up, stretch the previous dwarf galaxy significantly into its current size. The relative lacking of dark matter in the observed region is a natural consequence of the dark matter extended distribution and relatively less concentration in the corresponding central region before encounter, together with a systematic underestimation of the trace mass estimator method during relaxation after encounter. The observed flat distribution of the ultra-diffuse galaxy can be reproduced. Our results shows no need of introducing any new physical mechanism., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We present a model in which the dark matter particle is frozen-in at MeV scale. In this model, the mediator between the standard model sector and the dark sector can automatically provide a self-interaction for dark matter. The interaction strength is naturally to be the in the region in favor of the cluster mass deficit anomaly. Due to the self-scattering, the Lyman-$\alpha$ constraint can be relaxed to $m_D \gtrsim 2 $ keV. In this region the self-interaction and the Fermi pressure both play roles on forming a dark matter core at the center of the dwarf galaxies., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures

We study the cosmological signatures of Invisibly Annihilating Dark Matter (IAnDM), where DM annihilates into dark radiation particles that are decoupled from the Standard Model (SM). In the simple benchmark model we consider here, such invisible annihilation determines the relic abundance of DM via dark thermal freeze-out. We demonstrate that IAnDM may reveal itself through observable, novel signatures that are correlated: scale-dependent $\Delta N_\text{eff}$ (number of extra effective neutrinos) in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) spectrum due to DM residual annihilation, while the phase of acoustic peaks shifts towards the opposite direction relative to that due to SM neutrinos, resembling the effect due to scattering (fluidlike) thermal dark radiation; in addition, IAnDM induces modifications to the matter power spectrum that resemble those due to warm dark matter. Current data are sensitive to IAnDM with masses up to $\sim200$ keV, while future observations will improve this reach, especially if the late-time DM annihilation cross section is enhanced relative to the standard thermal value, which can be realized in a variety of scenarios. This work also demonstrates a new possibility of realizing thermal sub-MeV DM with observable signals., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Version published in PRD