QUEST-DMC superfluid 3^3He detector for sub-GeV dark matter

Collaboration
Oct 17, 2023
17 pages
Published in:
  • Eur.Phys.J.C 84 (2024) 3, 248
  • Published: Mar 8, 2024
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Abstract: (Springer)
The focus of dark matter searches to date has been on Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) in the GeV/c2c^2-TeV/c2c^2 mass range. The direct, indirect and collider searches in this mass range have been extensive but ultimately unsuccessful, providing a strong motivation for widening the search outside this range. Here we describe a new concept for a dark matter experiment, employing superfluid 3^3He as a detector for dark matter that is close to the mass of the proton, of order 1 GeV/c2c^2. The QUEST-DMC detector concept is based on quasiparticle detection in a bolometer cell by a nanomechanical resonator. In this paper we develop the energy measurement methodology and detector response model, simulate candidate dark matter signals and expected background interactions, and calculate the sensitivity of such a detector. We project that such a detector can reach sub-eV nuclear recoil energy threshold, opening up new windows on the parameter space of both spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions of light dark matter candidates.
Note:
  • 17 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Published in EPJ-C
  • dark matter: direct detection
  • WIMP: mass
  • dark matter: mass
  • spin: dependence
  • detector: design
  • background: interaction
  • energy: threshold
  • recoil: energy
  • nucleus: recoil
  • p: mass