Searching for MeV-mass neutrinophilic Dark Matter with Large Scale Dark Matter Detectors

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Suliga, Anna M., Fuller, George M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908275779305472
author Suliga, Anna M.
Fuller, George M.
author_facet Suliga, Anna M.
Fuller, George M.
contents The indirect detection of dark matter (DM) through its annihilation products is one of the primary strategies for DM detection. One of the least constrained classes of models is neutrinophilic DM, because the annihilation products, weakly interacting neutrinos, are challenging to observe. Here, we consider a scenario where MeV-mass DM exclusively annihilates to the third neutrino mass eigenstate, which is predominantly of tau and muon flavor. In such a scenario, the potential detection rate of the neutrinos originating from the DM annihilation in our Galaxy in the conventional detectors would be suppressed by up to approximately two orders of magnitude. This is because the best sensitivity of such detectors for neutrinos with energies below approximately 100 MeV is for electron neutrino flavor. In this work, we highlight the potential of large-scale DM detectors in uncovering such signals in the tens of MeV range of DM masses. In addition, we discuss how coincident signals in direct detection DM experiments and upcoming neutrino detectors such as DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and JUNO could provide new perspectives on the DM problem.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_19836
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Searching for MeV-mass neutrinophilic Dark Matter with Large Scale Dark Matter Detectors
Suliga, Anna M.
Fuller, George M.
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Experiment
The indirect detection of dark matter (DM) through its annihilation products is one of the primary strategies for DM detection. One of the least constrained classes of models is neutrinophilic DM, because the annihilation products, weakly interacting neutrinos, are challenging to observe. Here, we consider a scenario where MeV-mass DM exclusively annihilates to the third neutrino mass eigenstate, which is predominantly of tau and muon flavor. In such a scenario, the potential detection rate of the neutrinos originating from the DM annihilation in our Galaxy in the conventional detectors would be suppressed by up to approximately two orders of magnitude. This is because the best sensitivity of such detectors for neutrinos with energies below approximately 100 MeV is for electron neutrino flavor. In this work, we highlight the potential of large-scale DM detectors in uncovering such signals in the tens of MeV range of DM masses. In addition, we discuss how coincident signals in direct detection DM experiments and upcoming neutrino detectors such as DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and JUNO could provide new perspectives on the DM problem.
title Searching for MeV-mass neutrinophilic Dark Matter with Large Scale Dark Matter Detectors
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.19836