Projected Sensitivity of Paleo-Detectors to Dark Matter Effective Interactions with Nuclei
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866914392762744832 |
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| author | Theodosopoulos, Dionysios P. Freese, Katherine Kelso, Chris Stengel, Patrick |
| author_facet | Theodosopoulos, Dionysios P. Freese, Katherine Kelso, Chris Stengel, Patrick |
| contents | Paleo-detectors are a proposed experimental technique for direct detection (DD) of dark matter (DM) via the read-out of DM-induced nuclear recoil tracks in natural minerals. The large detector mass required for the sensitivity of conventional DD experiments to rare events is replaced by the exposure of paleo-detectors to DM-induced nuclear recoils over geological timescales. In this paper, we extend previous theoretical predictions for canonical spin-independent coherent and spin-dependent scattering (proportional to $A^2$ and the spin of the nucleus, respectively). We estimate the sensitivity of paleo-detectors to interactions between weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) DM and nuclei within the framework of a Non-Relativistic Effective Field Theory (NREFT), considering isoscalar couplings to nucleons for both elastic and inelastic scattering. Taking into account cosmogenic, astrophysical and radiogenic backgrounds, we project the 90% confidence-level (CL) upper limits on the isoscalar NREFT coupling constants for both scattering types. We consider representative read-out scenarios and examine several target minerals. The projected sensitivities of paleo-detectors are compared with the 90% CL limits from the XENON100, LUX-ZEPLIN, and PandaX-II experiments, as well as with the 95% Bayesian credible region of the 2D marginalized posterior distribution from SuperCDMS. For DM masses from 1 GeV-10 GeV, paleo-detectors are projected to have sensitivity superior to that of conventional experiments for WIMP-nucleus interactions via all NREFT operators, largely independent of read-out scenario or target mineral. For DM masses from 10 GeV-5 TeV, we find that the sensitivity of paleo-detectors is projected to be comparable to or better than that of conventional experiments for WIMP-nucleus interactions via several NREFT operators, depending on the read-out scenario and target mineral. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_13629 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Projected Sensitivity of Paleo-Detectors to Dark Matter Effective Interactions with Nuclei Theodosopoulos, Dionysios P. Freese, Katherine Kelso, Chris Stengel, Patrick Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Experiment High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Instrumentation and Detectors Paleo-detectors are a proposed experimental technique for direct detection (DD) of dark matter (DM) via the read-out of DM-induced nuclear recoil tracks in natural minerals. The large detector mass required for the sensitivity of conventional DD experiments to rare events is replaced by the exposure of paleo-detectors to DM-induced nuclear recoils over geological timescales. In this paper, we extend previous theoretical predictions for canonical spin-independent coherent and spin-dependent scattering (proportional to $A^2$ and the spin of the nucleus, respectively). We estimate the sensitivity of paleo-detectors to interactions between weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) DM and nuclei within the framework of a Non-Relativistic Effective Field Theory (NREFT), considering isoscalar couplings to nucleons for both elastic and inelastic scattering. Taking into account cosmogenic, astrophysical and radiogenic backgrounds, we project the 90% confidence-level (CL) upper limits on the isoscalar NREFT coupling constants for both scattering types. We consider representative read-out scenarios and examine several target minerals. The projected sensitivities of paleo-detectors are compared with the 90% CL limits from the XENON100, LUX-ZEPLIN, and PandaX-II experiments, as well as with the 95% Bayesian credible region of the 2D marginalized posterior distribution from SuperCDMS. For DM masses from 1 GeV-10 GeV, paleo-detectors are projected to have sensitivity superior to that of conventional experiments for WIMP-nucleus interactions via all NREFT operators, largely independent of read-out scenario or target mineral. For DM masses from 10 GeV-5 TeV, we find that the sensitivity of paleo-detectors is projected to be comparable to or better than that of conventional experiments for WIMP-nucleus interactions via several NREFT operators, depending on the read-out scenario and target mineral. |
| title | Projected Sensitivity of Paleo-Detectors to Dark Matter Effective Interactions with Nuclei |
| topic | Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Experiment High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Instrumentation and Detectors |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13629 |