Information-theoretic astrophysical uncertainties in the effective theory of dark matter direct detection

Abstract

The impact of astrophysical uncertainties in direct detection searches can vary significantly across particle dark matter models and detector targets, due to the different velocity and momentum dependencies of the scattering cross section. We address these uncertainties for all operators of the non-relativistic effective field theory of dark matter-nucleon interactions, making use of the Kullback-Leibler (KL) information divergence to measure the deviation of the true dark matter velocity distribution from the Maxwell-Boltzmann form. This approach quantifies how astrophysical uncertainties affect each operator in the effective theory, without assuming any specific functional form for the velocity distribution. While for some operators the uncertainties are smaller than one order of magnitude for entropically-motivated deviations from the Maxwell-Boltzmann form, for other operators these uncertainties can be as large as three orders of magnitude near threshold. Furthermore, we identify the dependence of the scattering rate for various operators of the effective theory with different velocity-weighted moments of the velocity distribution, functionally analogous to the mean, variance, or skewness. This provides new analytic insight into which features of the velocity distribution are most relevant to detect a given particle dark matter model. Our technique is general and could be applied to a broader class of physics problems where a physical observable depends on the statistical moments of an uncertain theoretical distribution.

Matches published version

References in corpus (48)

• The EAGLE project: Simulating the evolution and assembly of galaxies and their environments
• The RAVE Survey: Constraining the Local Galactic Escape Speed
• The Local Dark Matter Density
• First Dark Matter Search with Nuclear Recoils from the XENONnT Experiment
• Dark Matter Search Results from the Complete Exposure of the PICO-60 C${}_3$F${}_8$ Bubble Chamber
• Non-relativistic effective theory of dark matter direct detection
• Phase-space structure in the local dark matter distribution and its signature in direct detection experiments
• Interpreting Dark Matter Direct Detection Independently of the Local Velocity and Density Distribution
• Crystal responses to general dark matter-electron interactions
• Studying generalised dark matter interactions with extended halo-independent methods
• What is the probability that direct detection experiments have observed Dark Matter?
• Direct detection of non-galactic light dark matter
• Bounds on new neutrino interactions from the first CE$\nu$NS data at direct detection experiments
• The impact of the Large Magellanic Cloud on dark matter direct detection signals
• Probing Benchmark Models of Hidden-Sector Dark Matter with DAMIC-M
• Substructure at High Speed II: The Local Escape Velocity and Milky Way Mass with Gaia DR2
• A neutrino floor for the Migdal effect
• WimPyDD: an object-oriented Python code for the calculation of WIMP direct detection signals
• Spin-dependent sub-GeV Inelastic Dark Matter-electron scattering and Migdal effect: (I). Velocity Independent Operator
• Assessing Compatibility of Direct Detection Data: Halo-Independent Global Likelihood Analyses
• First Constraints on WIMP-Nucleon Effective Field Theory Couplings in an Extended Energy Region From LUX-ZEPLIN
• Probing active-sterile neutrino transition magnetic moment on coherent elastic solar neutrino-nucleus scattering
• Dark matter substructures affect dark matter-electron scattering in xenon-based direct detection experiments
• Enhanced prospects for direct detection of inelastic dark matter from a non-galactic diffuse component
• A combined analysis of PandaX, LUX, and XENON1T experiments within the framework of dark matter effective theory
• First Sub-MeV Dark Matter Search with the QROCODILE Experiment Using Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors
• Halo-Independent Analysis of Direct Dark Matter Detection Through Electron Scattering
• Halo-Independent Dark Matter Electron Scattering Analysis with In-Medium Effects
• Halo-independent bounds on the non-relativistic effective theory of WIMP-nucleon scattering from direct detection and neutrino observations
• Results on photon-mediated dark matter-nucleus interactions from the PICO-60 C${}_3$F${}_8$ bubble chamber
• A halo-independent lower bound on the dark matter capture rate in the Sun from a direct detection signal
• Effective field theory and inelastic dark matter results from XENON1T
• Substructure at High Speed I: Inferring the Escape Velocity in the Presence of Kinematic Substructure
• Halo-independent bounds on Inelastic Dark Matter
• Uncertainties on the EFT coupling limits for direct dark matter detection experiments stemming from uncertainties of target properties
• The Non-Relativistic Effective Field Theory Of Dark Matter-Electron Interactions
• Partial Rate Matrix for Dark Matter Scattering
• Wavelet-Harmonic Integration Methods
• Dark Matter Velocity Distributions for Direct Detection: Astrophysical Uncertainties are Smaller Than They Appear
• Isospin-violating dark matter at liquid noble detectors: new constraints, future projections, and an exploration of target complementarity
• GeV-scale thermal dark matter from dark photons: tightly constrained, yet allowed
• Bayesian technique to combine independently-trained Machine-Learning models applied to direct dark matter detection
• Precise interpretations of traditional fine-tuning measures
• A Global Fit of Non-Relativistic Effective Dark Matter Operators Including Solar Neutrinos
• Nuclear and electron scattering by neutrinos and dark matter in condensed systems
• Information divergences to parametrize astrophysical uncertainties in dark matter direct detection
• Sensitivity of WIMP bounds on the velocity distribution in the limit of a massless mediator
• Defect Formation in NaI Crystals: A Novel Pathway to Dark Matter Detection