Isospin-violating dark matter at liquid noble detectors: new constraints, future projections, and an exploration of target complementarity

Abstract

There is no known reason that dark matter interactions with the Standard Model should couple to neutrons and protons in the same way. This isospin violation can have large consequences, modifying the sensitivity of existing and future direct detection experimental constraints by orders of magnitude. Previous works in the literature have focused on the zero-momentum limit which has its limitations when extending the analysis to the Non-Relativistic Effective Field Theory basis (NREFT). In this paper, we study isospin violation in a detailed manner, paying specific attention to the experimental setups of liquid noble detectors. We analyse two effective Standard Model gauge invariant models as interesting case studies as well as the more model-independent NREFT operators. This work demonstrates the high degree of complementarity between the target nuclei xenon and argon. Most notably, we show that the Standard Model gauge-invariant formulation of the standard spin-dependent interaction often generates a sizeable response from argon, a target nuclei with zero spin. This work is meant as an update and a useful reference to model builders and experimentalists.

22 pages in total, 13 figures, 1 table, 3 appendices. Data from the main results of this paper is available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11826-y

References in corpus (18)

• Dark Matter Results From 54-Ton-Day Exposure of PandaX-II Experiment
• DARWIN: towards the ultimate dark matter detector
• Non-relativistic effective theory of dark matter direct detection
• Toward (Finally!) Ruling Out Z and Higgs Mediated Dark Matter Models
• Connecting Dark Matter UV Complete Models to Direct Detection Rates via Effective Field Theory
• Nuclear recoil energy scale in liquid xenon with application to the direct detection of dark matter
• A Review of Basic Energy Reconstruction Techniques in Liquid Xenon and Argon Detectors for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics Using NEST
• Signal yields, energy resolution, and recombination fluctuations in liquid xenon
• Prospects for direct detection of dark matter in an effective theory approach
• B anomalies and dark matter: a complex connection
• Isospin-violating dark matter in the light of recent data
• Dark Matter from Monogem
• A combined analysis of PandaX, LUX, and XENON1T experiments within the framework of dark matter effective theory
• Global fits of simplified models for dark matter with GAMBIT I. Scalar and fermionic models with s-channel vector mediators
• Halo-independent bounds on the non-relativistic effective theory of WIMP-nucleon scattering from direct detection and neutrino observations
• dmscatter: A Fast Program for WIMP-Nucleus Scattering
• $Z^{\prime }$-mediated Majorana dark matter: suppressed direct-detection rate and complementarity of LHC searches
• New Constraints on Xenonphobic Dark Matter from DEAP-3600

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Uncertainties on the EFT coupling limits for direct dark matter detection experiments stemming from uncertainties of target properties
• A Global Fit of Non-Relativistic Effective Dark Matter Operators Including Solar Neutrinos
• Information-theoretic astrophysical uncertainties in the effective theory of dark matter direct detection