New Constraints on Cosmic-ray boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter via Light Mediators

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Yu, Yang, Wang, Guan-Sen, Zhang, Bo, Tang, Tian-Peng, Su, Bing-Yu, Feng, Lei
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Yu, Yang
Wang, Guan-Sen
Zhang, Bo
Tang, Tian-Peng
Su, Bing-Yu
Feng, Lei
author_facet Yu, Yang
Wang, Guan-Sen
Zhang, Bo
Tang, Tian-Peng
Su, Bing-Yu
Feng, Lei
contents Traditional direct detection experiments lack the sensitivity to probe the sub-GeV dark matter (DM), primarily due to the low energy of the expected nuclear recoils. In this work, we investigate cosmic-ray (CR) upscattering as a mechanism to accelerate DM particles to detectable velocities in underground experiments. By analyzing four models of DM-nucleon interactions -- namely scalar, vector, pseudoscalar, and axial-vector mediators -- we derive constraints on the coupling parameters using data from the LZ, XENON, and Borexino experiments, covering mediator mass from $10^{-6}$ to $1$ GeV. As the mediator mass varies, the shift in dominance between momentum transfer and mediator mass leads to a turnover in the constraints around $10^{-2}$--$10^{-3}~\mathrm{GeV}$. Our results extend the reach of direct detection into the sub-GeV window and clarify the critical role of momentum dependence in light-mediator scenarios.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_23282
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle New Constraints on Cosmic-ray boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter via Light Mediators
Yu, Yang
Wang, Guan-Sen
Zhang, Bo
Tang, Tian-Peng
Su, Bing-Yu
Feng, Lei
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Traditional direct detection experiments lack the sensitivity to probe the sub-GeV dark matter (DM), primarily due to the low energy of the expected nuclear recoils. In this work, we investigate cosmic-ray (CR) upscattering as a mechanism to accelerate DM particles to detectable velocities in underground experiments. By analyzing four models of DM-nucleon interactions -- namely scalar, vector, pseudoscalar, and axial-vector mediators -- we derive constraints on the coupling parameters using data from the LZ, XENON, and Borexino experiments, covering mediator mass from $10^{-6}$ to $1$ GeV. As the mediator mass varies, the shift in dominance between momentum transfer and mediator mass leads to a turnover in the constraints around $10^{-2}$--$10^{-3}~\mathrm{GeV}$. Our results extend the reach of direct detection into the sub-GeV window and clarify the critical role of momentum dependence in light-mediator scenarios.
title New Constraints on Cosmic-ray boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter via Light Mediators
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.23282