Modeling the Differential Rate for Signal Interactions in Coincidence with Noise Fluctuations or Large Rate Backgrounds
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2024
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| _version_ | 1866912656198205440 |
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| author | Li, Xinran Pyle, Matt Sadoulet, Bernard |
| author_facet | Li, Xinran Pyle, Matt Sadoulet, Bernard |
| contents | The characteristic energy of a relic dark matter interaction with a detector scales strongly with the putative dark matter mass. Consequently, experimental search sensitivity at the lightest masses will always come from interactions whose size is similar to noise fluctuations and low energy backgrounds in the detector.
In this paper, we correctly calculate the net change in measured differential rate due to signal interactions that overlap in time with noise and backgrounds, accounting for both periods of time when the signal is coincident with noise/backgrounds and for the decreased amount of time in which only noise/backgrounds occur. Previous experimental searches have not accounted for this second fundamental effect, and thus either vastly overestimate their experimental search sensitivity (very bad) or use ad hoc conservative cuts which can underestimate experimental sensitivity (not ideal). We find that the detector response to dark matter can be trivially and conservatively understood as long as the true probability of dark matter pileup is small.
We also show that introducing random events in the continuous raw data stream (a form of ``salting") provides a correct and practical implementation that correctly accounts for the decreased live time available for noise fluctuations and background events out of coincidence with a true dark matter signal. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_10671 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Modeling the Differential Rate for Signal Interactions in Coincidence with Noise Fluctuations or Large Rate Backgrounds Li, Xinran Pyle, Matt Sadoulet, Bernard High Energy Physics - Experiment The characteristic energy of a relic dark matter interaction with a detector scales strongly with the putative dark matter mass. Consequently, experimental search sensitivity at the lightest masses will always come from interactions whose size is similar to noise fluctuations and low energy backgrounds in the detector. In this paper, we correctly calculate the net change in measured differential rate due to signal interactions that overlap in time with noise and backgrounds, accounting for both periods of time when the signal is coincident with noise/backgrounds and for the decreased amount of time in which only noise/backgrounds occur. Previous experimental searches have not accounted for this second fundamental effect, and thus either vastly overestimate their experimental search sensitivity (very bad) or use ad hoc conservative cuts which can underestimate experimental sensitivity (not ideal). We find that the detector response to dark matter can be trivially and conservatively understood as long as the true probability of dark matter pileup is small. We also show that introducing random events in the continuous raw data stream (a form of ``salting") provides a correct and practical implementation that correctly accounts for the decreased live time available for noise fluctuations and background events out of coincidence with a true dark matter signal. |
| title | Modeling the Differential Rate for Signal Interactions in Coincidence with Noise Fluctuations or Large Rate Backgrounds |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.10671 |