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arXiv · 1608.02940

Detection of sub-GeV Dark Matter and Solar Neutrinos via Chemical-Bond Breaking

Rouven Essig·Jeremy Mardon·Oren Slone·Tomer Volansky
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Abstract

We explore a new low-threshold direct-detection concept for dark matter, based on the breaking of chemical bonds between atoms. This includes the dissociation of molecules and the creation of defects in a lattice. With thresholds of a few to 10's of eV, such an experiment could probe the nuclear couplings of dark matter particles as light as a few MeV. We calculate the expected rates for dark matter to break apart diatomic molecules, which we take as a case study for more general systems. We briefly mention ideas for how chemical-bond breaking might be detected in practice. We also discuss the possibility of detecting solar neutrinos, including pp neutrinos, with this experimental concept. With an event rate of $\mathcal{O}$(0.1/kg-year), large exposures are required, but measuring low-energy solar neutrinos would provide a crucial test of the solar model.

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Rouven Essig, Jeremy Mardon, Oren Slone, Tomer Volansky. 2016-08-09. Detection of sub-GeV Dark Matter and Solar Neutrinos via Chemical-Bond Breaking. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.95.056011

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