First Direct Search for Light Dark Matter Using the NEON Experiment at a Nuclear Reactor

J. J. Choi; C. Ha; E. J. Jeon; J. Y. Kim; K. W. Kim; S. H. Kim; S. K. Kim; Y. D. Kim; Y. J. Ko; B. C. Koh; S. H. Lee; I. S. Lee; H. Lee; H. S. Lee; J. S. Lee; Y. M. Oh; B. J. Park

arXiv · 2407.16194

First Direct Search for Light Dark Matter Using the NEON Experiment at a Nuclear Reactor

J. J. Choi·C. Ha·E. J. Jeon·J. Y. Kim·K. W. Kim·S. H. Kim·S. K. Kim·Y. D. Kim·Y. J. Ko·B. C. Koh·S. H. Lee·I. S. Lee·H. Lee·H. S. Lee·J. S. Lee·Y. M. Oh·B. J. Park

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Abstract

We report new results from the Neutrino Elastic Scattering Observation with NaI (NEON) experiment in the search for light dark matter (LDM) using 2,636 kg$\cdot$days of NaI(Tl) exposure. The experiment employs an array of NaI(Tl) crystals with a total mass of 16.7 kg, located 23.7 meters away from a 2.8 GW thermal power nuclear reactor. We investigated LDM produced by the $\textit{invisible decay}$ of dark photons generated by high-flux photons during reactor operation. The energy spectra collected during reactor-on and reactor-off periods were compared within the LDM signal region of $1-10$ keV. No signal consistent with LDM interaction with electrons was observed, allowing us to set 90% confidence level exclusion limits for the dark matter-electron scattering cross-section ($\sigma_e$) across dark matter masses ranging from 1 keV/c$^2$ to 1 MeV/c$^2$. Our results set a 90% confidence level upper limit of $\sigma_e = 3.17\times10^{-35}~\mathrm{cm^2}$ for a dark matter mass of 100 keV/c$^2$, marking the best laboratory result in this mass range. Additionally, our search extends the coverage of LDM below 100 keV/c$^2$ first time.

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J. J. Choi, C. Ha, E. J. Jeon, J. Y. Kim, K. W. Kim, S. H. Kim, S. K. Kim, Y. D. Kim, Y. J. Ko, B. C. Koh, S. H. Lee, I. S. Lee, H. Lee, H. S. Lee, J. S. Lee, Y. M. Oh, B. J. Park. 2024-07-23. First Direct Search for Light Dark Matter Using the NEON Experiment at a Nuclear Reactor. https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.16194

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