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This study investigates a novel method for detecting light dark matter that has been accelerated by cosmic rays, using large liquid scintillator neutrino detectors. The researchers focus on identifying dark matter through quasi-elastic scattering events with carbon nuclei that knock out neutrons, producing a distinctive delayed gamma ray signal approximately 210 microseconds after the initial interaction. Analysis suggests that 100 kiloton-years of detector data using this neutron-coincidence technique could probe previously unexplored parameter space beyond what free proton detection methods have achieved, though directional information from neutron capture locations provides limited additional sensitivity due to large scattering angles.
Why it matters
This approach could expand the search capabilities of existing large-scale neutrino detectors to also hunt for dark matter, potentially making these expensive facilities more scientifically productive. The neutron-coincidence detection method offers a complementary technique to conventional dark matter searches, potentially helping to narrow down or confirm the properties of this mysterious substance that comprises most of the universe's matter.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Abstract: Light dark matter can be boosted by cosmic-ray-dark matter interactions, which opens the possibility of direct-detection searches with large neutrino detectors. We consider the signal produced by boosted dark matter undergoing quasi-elastic scattering off carbon and knocking out a neutron in a large liquid scintillator detector. A distinctive delayed gamma ray from neutron capture can be reconstructed after $sim 210$ $mu$s, which is paired up with the prompt signal during neutron propagation. We find that 100 kt$cdot$yr of data from the neutron-coincidence channel will be able to probe new parameter space compared to free proton signals found in previous work. We further consider the possibility of utilizing directional information from the displaced vertex associated with the capture of the final-state neutron. However, we find that directional information does not materially improve the sensitivity due to the large nucleon scattering angle.
Source: Boosted Dark Matter Directionality in Large Liquid Scintillator Detectors