Searches for light dark matter using condensed matter systems

Abstract

Identifying the nature of dark matter (DM) has long been a pressing question for particle physics. In the face of ever-more-powerful exclusions and null results from large-exposure searches for TeV-scale DM interacting with nuclei, a significant amount of attention has shifted to lighter (sub-GeV) DM candidates. Direct detection of the light dark matter in our galaxy by observing DM scattering off a target system requires new approaches compared to prior searches. Lighter DM particles have less available kinetic energy, and achieving a kinematic match between DM and the target mandates the proper treatment of collective excitations in condensed matter systems, such as charged quasiparticles or phonons. In this context, the condensed matter physics of the target material is crucial, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach. In this review, we provide a self-contained introduction to direct detection of keV--GeV DM with condensed matter systems. We give a brief survey of dark matter models and basics of condensed matter, while the bulk of the review deals with the theoretical treatment of DM-nucleon and DM-electron interactions. We also review recent experimental developments in detector technology, and conclude with an outlook for the field of sub-GeV DM detection over the next decade.

90 pages, 19 figures, 2 tables. v2: matches journal version. Invited review for Reports on Progress in Physics

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• Directional detection of dark matter with anisotropic response functions
• Dark Matter Candidates and Searches
• Constraints on Dark Matter-Electron Scattering from Molecular Cloud Ionization
• Measuring the Migdal effect in semiconductors for dark matter detection
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• Dark matter substructures affect dark matter-electron scattering in xenon-based direct detection experiments
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• Accelerated Light Dark Matter-Earth Inelastic Scattering in Direct Detection
• Dark Matter Direct Detection with Quantum Dots
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• Fuelling the search for light dark matter-electron scattering with spherical proportional counters
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• Freeze-in, glaciation, and UV sensitivity from light mediators
• Plasmon-enhanced Direct Detection Method for Boosted sub-MeV Dark Matter
• Seeing dark matter via acceleration radiation
• MeV Gamma-Ray Constraints for Light Dark Matter from Semi-Annihilation
• Neutrinos from the Sun can discover dark matter-electron scattering
• Broad-Range Directional Detection of Light Dark Matter in Cryogenic Ice
• The Revival of $U(1{)}_{L_e-L_{\mu }}$: A Natural Solution for $(g-2{)}_{\mu }$ with a Sub-GeV Dark Matter
• The Non-Relativistic Effective Field Theory Of Dark Matter-Electron Interactions
• Incoherent Fermionic Dark Matter Absorption with Nucleon Fermi Motion
• Super-Kamiokande Strongly Constrains Leptophilic Dark Matter Capture in the Sun
• Hunting axion dark matter with anti-ferromagnets: a case study with nickel oxide
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• Chiral kinetic theory in the presence of dark photon
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• Comparison of the Migdal transition probabilities in electron-atom inelastic cross sections