Limits on Sub-GeV Dark Matter from the PROSPECT Reactor Antineutrino Experiment

M. Andriamirado; A. B. Balantekin; H. R. Band; C. D. Bass; D. E. Bergeron; N. S. Bowden; C. D. Bryan; T. Classen; A. J. Conant; G. Deichert; M. V. Diwan; M. J. Dolinski; A. Erickson; B. T. Foust; J. K. Gaison; A. Galindo-Uribarri; C. E. Gilbert; S. Hans; A. B. Hansell; K. M. Heeger; B. Heffron; D. E. Jaffe; S. Jayakumar; X. Ji; D. C. Jones; J. Koblanski; O. Kyzylova; C. E. Lane; T. J. Langford; J. LaRosa; B. R. Littlejohn; X. Lu; J. Maricic; M. P. Mendenhall; A. M. Meyer; R. Milincic; P. E. Mueller; H. P. Mumm; J. Napolitano; R. Neilson; J. A. Nikkel; S. Nour; J. L. Palomino; D. A. Pushin; X. Qian; R. Rosero; P. T. Surukuchi; M. A. Tyra; R. L. Varner; D. Venegas-Vargas; P. B. Weatherly; C. White; J. Wilhelmi; A. Woolverton; M. Yeh; C. Zhang; X. Zhang; C. V. Cappiello

doi:10.1103/physrevd.104.012009

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arXiv · 2104.11219

Limits on Sub-GeV Dark Matter from the PROSPECT Reactor Antineutrino Experiment

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Abstract

If dark matter has mass lower than around 1 GeV, it will not impart enough energy to cause detectable nuclear recoils in many direct-detection experiments. However, if dark matter is upscattered to high energy by collisions with cosmic rays, it may be detectable in both direct-detection experiments and neutrino experiments. We report the results of a dedicated search for boosted dark matter upscattered by cosmic rays using the PROSPECT reactor antineutrino experiment. We show that such a flux of upscattered dark matter would display characteristic diurnal sidereal modulation, and use this to set new experimental constraints on sub-GeV dark matter exhibiting large interaction cross-sections.

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M. Andriamirado, A. B. Balantekin, H. R. Band, C. D. Bass, D. E. Bergeron, N. S. Bowden, C. D. Bryan, T. Classen, A. J. Conant, G. Deichert, M. V. Diwan, M. J. Dolinski, A. Erickson, B. T. Foust, J. K. Gaison, A. Galindo-Uribarri, C. E. Gilbert, S. Hans, A. B. Hansell, K. M. Heeger, B. Heffron, D. E. Jaffe, S. Jayakumar, X. Ji, D. C. Jones, J. Koblanski, O. Kyzylova, C. E. Lane, T. J. Langford, J. LaRosa, B. R. Littlejohn, X. Lu, J. Maricic, M. P. Mendenhall, A. M. Meyer, R. Milincic, P. E. Mueller, H. P. Mumm, J. Napolitano, R. Neilson, J. A. Nikkel, S. Nour, J. L. Palomino, D. A. Pushin, X. Qian, R. Rosero, P. T. Surukuchi, M. A. Tyra, R. L. Varner, D. Venegas-Vargas, P. B. Weatherly, C. White, J. Wilhelmi, A. Woolverton, M. Yeh, C. Zhang, X. Zhang, C. V. Cappiello. 2021-04-22. Limits on Sub-GeV Dark Matter from the PROSPECT Reactor Antineutrino Experiment. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.104.012009

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