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Author (up) Gelmini, G.B.; Takhistov, V.; Witte, S.J.
Title Geoneutrinos in large direct detection experiments Type Journal Article
Year 2019 Publication Physical Review D Abbreviated Journal Phys. Rev. D
Volume 99 Issue 9 Pages 093009 - 11pp
Keywords
Abstract Geoneutrinos can provide a unique insight into Earth's interior, its central engine, and its formation history. We study the detection of geoneutrinos in large direct detection experiments, which has been considered nonfeasible. We compute the geoneutrino-induced electron and nuclear recoil spectra in different materials, under several optimistic assumptions. We identify germanium as the most promising target element due to the low nuclear recoil energy threshold that could be achieved. The minimum exposure required for detection would be O(10) ton-years. The realistic low thresholds achievable in germanium and silicon permit the detection of K-40 geoneutrinos. These are particularly important to determining Earth's formation history, but they are below the kinematic threshold of inverse beta decay, the detection process used in scintillator-based experiments.
Address [Gelmini, Graciela B.; Takhistov, Volodymyr] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Phys & Astron, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA, Email: gelmini@physics.ucla.edu;
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Amer Physical Soc Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2470-0010 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000469022000001 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4024
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Author (up) Gelmini, G.B.; Takhistov, V.; Witte, S.J.
Title Casting a wide signal net with future direct dark matter detection experiments Type Journal Article
Year 2018 Publication Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Abbreviated Journal J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.
Volume 07 Issue 7 Pages 009 - 55pp
Keywords dark matter detectors; dark matter experiments; dark matter theory
Abstract As dark matter (DM) direct detection experiments continue to improve their sensitivity they will inevitably encounter an irreducible background arising from coherent neutrino scattering. This so-called “neutrino floor” may significantly reduce the sensitivity of an experiment to DM-nuclei interactions, particularly if the recoil spectrum of the neutrino background is approximately degenerate with the DM signal. This occurs for the conventionally considered spin-independent (SI) or spin-dependent (SD) interactions. In such case, an increase in the experiment's exposure by multiple orders of magnitude may not yield any significant increase in sensitivity. The typically considered SI and SD interactions, however, do not adequately reflect the whole landscape of the well-motivated DM models, which includes other interactions. Since particle DM has not been detected yet in laboratories, it is essential to understand and maximize the detection capabilities for a broad variety of possible models and signatures. In this work we explore the impact of the background arising from various neutrino sources on the discovery potential of a DM signal for a large class of viable DM-nucleus interactions and several potential futuristic experimental settings, with different target elements. For some momentum suppressed cross sections, large DM particle masses and heavier targets, we find that there is no suppression of the discovery limits due to neutrino backgrounds. Further, we explicitly demonstrate that inelastic scattering, which could appear in models with multicomponent dark sectors, would help to lift the signal degeneracy associated with the neutrino floor. This study could assist with mapping out the optimal DM detection strategy for the next generation of experiments.
Address [Gelmini, Graciela B.; Takhistov, Volodymyr; Witte, Samuel J.] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Phys & Astron, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA, Email: gelmini@physics.ucla.edu;
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1475-7516 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000437422800001 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 3646
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Author (up) Hooper, D.; Leane, R.K.; Tsai, Y.D.; Wegsman, S.; Witte, S.J.
Title A systematic study of hidden sector dark matter: application to the gamma-ray and antiproton excesses Type Journal Article
Year 2020 Publication Journal of High Energy Physics Abbreviated Journal J. High Energy Phys.
Volume 07 Issue 7 Pages 163 - 38pp
Keywords Beyond Standard Model; Cosmology of Theories beyond the SM
Abstract In hidden sector models, dark matter does not directly couple to the particle content of the Standard Model, strongly suppressing rates at direct detection experiments, while still allowing for large signals from annihilation. In this paper, we conduct an extensive study of hidden sector dark matter, covering a wide range of dark matter spins, mediator spins, interaction diagrams, and annihilation final states, in each case determining whether the annihilations are s-wave (thus enabling efficient annihilation in the universe today). We then go on to consider a variety of portal interactions that allow the hidden sector annihilation products to decay into the Standard Model. We broadly classify constraints from relic density requirements and dwarf spheroidal galaxy observations. In the scenario that the hidden sector was in equilibrium with the Standard Model in the early universe, we place a lower bound on the portal coupling, as well as on the dark matter's elastic scattering cross section with nuclei. We apply our hidden sector results to the observed Galactic Center gamma-ray excess and the cosmic-ray antiproton excess. We find that both of these excesses can be simultaneously explained by a variety of hidden sector models, without any tension with constraints from observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies.
Address [Hooper, Dan; Tsai, Yu-Dai] Fermilab Natl Accelerator Lab, Fermilab, Batavia, IL 60510 USA, Email: dhooper@fnal.gov;
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1029-8479 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000555828300002 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4491
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Author (up) Lopez-Honorez, L.; Mena, O.; Palomares-Ruiz, S.; Villanueva-Domingo, P.; Witte, S.J.
Title Variations in fundamental constants at the cosmic dawn Type Journal Article
Year 2020 Publication Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Abbreviated Journal J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.
Volume 06 Issue 6 Pages 026 - 25pp
Keywords cosmology of theories beyond the SM; particle physics – cosmology connection; reionization
Abstract The observation of space-time variations in fundamental constants would provide strong evidence for the existence of new light degrees of freedom in the theory of Nature. Robustly constraining such scenarios requires exploiting observations that span different scales and probe the state of the Universe at different epochs. In the context of cosmology, both the cosmic microwave background and the Lyman-a forest have proven to be powerful tools capable of constraining variations in electromagnetism, however at the moment there do not exist cosmological probes capable of bridging the gap between recombination and reionization. In the near future, radio telescopes will attempt to measure the 21 cm transition of neutral hydrogen during the epochs of reionization and the cosmic dawn (and potentially the tail end of the dark ages); being inherently sensitive to electromagnetic phenomena, these experiments will offer a unique perspective on space-time variations of the fine-structure constant and the electron mass. We show here that large variations in these fundamental constants would produce features on the 21 cm power spectrum that may be distinguishable from astrophysical uncertainties. Furthermore, we forecast the sensitivity for the Square Kilometer Array, and show that the 21 cm power spectrum may be able to constrain variations at the level of O(10(-3)).
Address [Lopez-Honorez, Laura] Univ Libre Bruxelles, Serv Phys Theor, CP225, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium, Email: llopezho@ulb.ac.be;
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1475-7516 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000551875400049 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4473
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Author (up) McDermott, S.D.; Witte, S.J.
Title Cosmological evolution of light dark photon dark matter Type Journal Article
Year 2020 Publication Physical Review D Abbreviated Journal Phys. Rev. D
Volume 101 Issue 6 Pages 063030 - 14pp
Keywords
Abstract Light dark photons are subject to various plasma effects, such as Debye screening and resonant oscillations, which can lead to a more complex cosmological evolution than is experienced by conventional cold dark matter candidates. Maintaining a consistent history of dark photon dark matter requires ensuring that the superthennal abundance present in the early Universe (i) does not deviate significantly after the formation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and (ii) does not excessively leak into the Standard Model plasma after big band nucleosynthesis (BBN). We point out that the role of nonresonant absorption, which has previously been neglected in cosmological studies of this dark matter candidate, produces strong constraints on dark photon dark matter with mass as low as 10(-22) eV. Furthermore, we show that resonant conversion of dark photons after recombination can produce excessive heating of the intergalactic medium (IGM) which is capable of prematurely reionizing hydrogen and helium, leaving a distinct imprint on both the Ly-a forest and the integrated optical depth of the CMB. Our constraints surpass existing cosmological bounds by more than 5 orders of magnitude across a wide range of dark photon masses.
Address [McDermott, Samuel D.] Fermilab Natl Accelerator Lab, Theoret Astrophys Grp, POB 500, Batavia, IL 60510 USA
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Amer Physical Soc Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2470-0010 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000522168800002 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4346
Permanent link to this record