Abstract
We investigate the velocity and recoil momentum dependence of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter. In particular we focus on the single-electron resolution semiconductor detectors, which allow experimental assessment of sub-GeV dark matter masses. We find that, within a specific mass range depending on the detector material, the dark matter interactions result in a signal characterized by daily modulation. Furthermore, we find that the detailed structure of this modulation is sensitive to the velocity and momentum dependence of dark matter interactions. We identify the optimal mass range for the prevalence of these effects.
Highlights
Cosmological and astrophysical observations provide overwhelming evidence for the existence of dark matter (DM) consisted of particles beyond the Standard Model (SM)
We have considered dark matter scattering in the singleelectron resolution ionization detectors wherein the quantum of electronic excitation Emin depends on the recoil direction
We have extended the analysis of [6] to cover the possible velocity and energy dependencies of dark matter scattering on ordinary matter as implied by the general low energy effective theory of dark matter
Summary
Cosmological and astrophysical observations provide overwhelming evidence for the existence of dark matter (DM) consisted of particles beyond the Standard Model (SM). The directional detection in the context of nonrelativistic effective theory of DM-SM scattering has been discussed in [7,8], where the angular recoil distributions expected for the various effective operators have been described. We establish the following general picture i.e., in the small mass region where the daily modulation amplitude is readily observable, the recoil dynamics are largely insensitive to the effective DM-SM scattering operator. As the DM mass increases, the different recoil dynamics cause an increasing difference in the angular distribution This effect becomes masked by the fact that the amplitude of the daily modulation signal quickly decreases as the DM mass increases, the effect becomes less observable. The analytic formulas for the angular event rates are given in Appendix A
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
