Probing low-mass dark matter from sub-MeV to sub-GeV with germanium-based quantum phononic spectroscopy

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Auteurs principaux: Mei, D. -M., Budhathoki, N., Panamaldeniya, S. A., Dong, K. -M., Bhattarai, S., Warren, A., Prem, A., Chhetri, S.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Mei, D. -M.
Budhathoki, N.
Panamaldeniya, S. A.
Dong, K. -M.
Bhattarai, S.
Warren, A.
Prem, A.
Chhetri, S.
author_facet Mei, D. -M.
Budhathoki, N.
Panamaldeniya, S. A.
Dong, K. -M.
Bhattarai, S.
Warren, A.
Prem, A.
Chhetri, S.
contents We present a germanium phonon-to-charge transducer that integrates a slow-phonon phononic-crystal (PnC) region with radio-frequency quantum point-contact (RF-QPC) readout at 4 K, and we evaluate its dark-sector reach. A calibrated signal-collection model, which combines geometric guiding, propagation survival, and multiplicity-assisted primary-phonon detection, provides selection-corrected thresholds in the $10^{-3}$-$10^{-2}$~eV range and a background model informed by nanosecond timing gates and GHz-band power-spectral-density windows. Under standard halo assumptions, a 100 g module achieves projected sensitivity to DM-electron and DM-nucleon scattering at recoil energies below $10^{-2}$~eV, probing cross sections below $10^{-43}\,\mathrm{cm}^{2}$ for $m_χ\in [0.01,100]~\mathrm{MeV}/c^{2}$ (with efficiencies and thresholds folded in). We present sensitivities for both heavy-mediator ($F_{\rm DM}=1$) and light-mediator ($F_{\rm DM}\propto 1/q^{2}$) benchmarks, quantify dominant systematics (threshold, phonon quality factor $Q$, and bulk defect densities), and outline a staged program toward kg$\cdot$yr exposures that begins to test models approaching the solar CE$ν$NS background.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_08329
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing low-mass dark matter from sub-MeV to sub-GeV with germanium-based quantum phononic spectroscopy
Mei, D. -M.
Budhathoki, N.
Panamaldeniya, S. A.
Dong, K. -M.
Bhattarai, S.
Warren, A.
Prem, A.
Chhetri, S.
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
We present a germanium phonon-to-charge transducer that integrates a slow-phonon phononic-crystal (PnC) region with radio-frequency quantum point-contact (RF-QPC) readout at 4 K, and we evaluate its dark-sector reach. A calibrated signal-collection model, which combines geometric guiding, propagation survival, and multiplicity-assisted primary-phonon detection, provides selection-corrected thresholds in the $10^{-3}$-$10^{-2}$~eV range and a background model informed by nanosecond timing gates and GHz-band power-spectral-density windows. Under standard halo assumptions, a 100 g module achieves projected sensitivity to DM-electron and DM-nucleon scattering at recoil energies below $10^{-2}$~eV, probing cross sections below $10^{-43}\,\mathrm{cm}^{2}$ for $m_χ\in [0.01,100]~\mathrm{MeV}/c^{2}$ (with efficiencies and thresholds folded in). We present sensitivities for both heavy-mediator ($F_{\rm DM}=1$) and light-mediator ($F_{\rm DM}\propto 1/q^{2}$) benchmarks, quantify dominant systematics (threshold, phonon quality factor $Q$, and bulk defect densities), and outline a staged program toward kg$\cdot$yr exposures that begins to test models approaching the solar CE$ν$NS background.
title Probing low-mass dark matter from sub-MeV to sub-GeV with germanium-based quantum phononic spectroscopy
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08329