Taming astrophysical bias in direct dark matter searches

Abstract

We explore systematic biases in the identification of dark matter in future direct detection experiments and compare the reconstructed dark matter properties when assuming a self-consistent dark matter distribution function and the standard Maxwellian velocity distribution. We find that the systematic bias on the dark matter mass and cross-section determination arising from wrong assumptions for its distribution function is of order ~1σ. A much larger systematic bias can arise if wrong assumptions are made on the underlying Milky Way mass model. However, in both cases the bias is substantially mitigated by marginalizing over galactic model parameters. We additionally show that the velocity distribution can be reconstructed in an unbiased manner for typical dark matter parameters. Our results highlight both the robustness of the dark matter mass and cross-section determination using the standard Maxwellian velocity distribution and the importance of accounting for astrophysical uncertainties in a statistically consistent fashion.

16 pages, 6 figures, matches published version

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Cited by in corpus (11)

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• Scalar Simplified Models for Dark Matter
• Quantifying (dis)agreement between direct detection experiments in a halo-independent way
• Halo Independent Direct Detection of Momentum-Dependent Dark Matter
• Directional detection of dark matter streams
• Understanding WIMP-baryon interactions with direct detection: A Roadmap
• Studying generalised dark matter interactions with extended halo-independent methods
• Analysis of the theoretical bias in dark matter direct detection
• Two-integral distribution functions in axisymmetric galaxies: implications for dark matter searches
• The Morphology of Exciting Dark Matter and the Galactic 511 keV Signal
• The Velocity-Dependent $J$-factor of the Milky Way Halo: Does What Happens in the Galactic Bulge Stay in the Galactic Bulge?