GLIMPSE: Graphene-based super-Light Invisible Matter Particle SEarch

Abstract

We propose a new dark-matter detection strategy that will potentially enable the search for super-light dark matter $m_\chi \simeq 0.1$ keV, improving the minimum detectable mass by more than three orders of magnitude compared to ongoing experiments. This can be achieved by intimately integrating the target material, specifically the $\pi$-bond electrons in graphene, into a Josephson junction to create a highly sensitive detector capable of detecting energy deposits from dark matter as small as $\sim 0.1$ meV. We investigate detection prospects of pg-, ng-, and $\mu$g-scale detectors by calculating the scattering rate between dark matter and free electrons confined in two-dimensional graphene, including Pauli-blocking factors and in-medium screening effects. We find that the proposed detector is expected to not only serve as a complementary probe of super-light dark matter but also achieve higher experimental sensitivities than other proposed experiments, assuming zero readout noise, thanks to the extremely low threshold energy of our graphene Josephson junction sensor.