Probing the Dark Matter EFT with QUEST-DMC: Projected Sensitivities and Attenuation Ceilings

DMC Collaboration; N. Darvishi; S. Autti; L. Bloomfield; A. Casey; N. Eng; P. Franchini; R. P. Haley; P. J. Heikkinen; A. Jennings; A. Kemp; E. Leason; J. March-Russell; A. Mayer; J. Monroe; D. Munstermann; M. T. Noble; J. R. Prance; X. Rojas; T. Salmon; J. Saunders; J. Smirnov; R. Smith; M. D. Thompson; A. Thomson; A. Ting; V. Tsepelin; S. M. West; L. Whitehead; D. E. Zmeev

arXiv · 2602.23995

Probing the Dark Matter EFT with QUEST-DMC: Projected Sensitivities and Attenuation Ceilings

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Abstract

This proceedings contribution summarises projected constraints from the QUEST-DMC concept, a surface-based direct-detection experiment using superfluid $^3$He operated below the millikelvin regime and instrumented with nanomechanical resonators read out by SQUIDs. The low recoil-energy threshold (down to sub-eV for the SQUID configuration) enables sensitivity to sub-GeV dark matter across a wide set of interaction structures beyond the canonical spin-independent and spin-dependent limits. We present projections in the non-relativistic Effective Field Theory (EFT) framework, scanning the standard set of fourteen Galilean-invariant operators and expressing reach in terms of effective dark matter-nucleon (or dark matter-neutron) cross sections. Because QUEST-DMC operates at the surface, we also account for suppression of the incident flux due to scattering in the atmosphere and Earth, which produces an interaction-dependent sensitivity ceiling at large couplings. Finally, we outline how the non-relativistic results map onto representative relativistic EFT dark matter-nucleon bilinears, enabling a compact interpretation of the projected reach in terms of UV-motivated coupling structures.

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DMC Collaboration, N. Darvishi, S. Autti, L. Bloomfield, A. Casey, N. Eng, P. Franchini, R. P. Haley, P. J. Heikkinen, A. Jennings, A. Kemp, E. Leason, J. March-Russell, A. Mayer, J. Monroe, D. Munstermann, M. T. Noble, J. R. Prance, X. Rojas, T. Salmon, J. Saunders, J. Smirnov, R. Smith, M. D. Thompson, A. Thomson, A. Ting, V. Tsepelin, S. M. West, L. Whitehead, D. E. Zmeev. 2026-02-27. Probing the Dark Matter EFT with QUEST-DMC: Projected Sensitivities and Attenuation Ceilings. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.23995

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