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arXiv · 2310.11304

QUEST-DMC superfluid $^3$He detector for sub-GeV dark matter

S. Autti·A. Casey·N. Eng·N. Darvishi·P. Franchini·R. P. Haley·P. J. Heikkinen·A. Jennings·A. Kemp·E. Leason·L. V. Levitin·J. Monroe·J. March-Russel·M. T. Noble·J. R. Prance·X. Rojas·T. Salmon·J. Saunders·R. Smith·M. D. Thompson·V. Tsepelin·S. M. West·L. Whitehead·V. V. Zavjalov·D. E. Zmeev
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Abstract

The focus of dark matter searches to date has been on Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) in the GeV/$c^2$-TeV/$c^2$ mass range. The direct, indirect and collider searches in this mass range have been extensive but ultimately unsuccessful, providing a strong motivation for widening the search outside this range. Here we describe a new concept for a dark matter experiment, employing superfluid $^3$He as a detector for dark matter that is close to the mass of the proton, of order 1 GeV/$c^2$. The QUEST-DMC detector concept is based on quasiparticle detection in a bolometer cell by a nanomechanical resonator. In this paper we develop the energy measurement methodology and detector response model, simulate candidate dark matter signals and expected background interactions, and calculate the sensitivity of such a detector. We project that such a detector can reach sub-eV nuclear recoil energy threshold, opening up new windows on the parameter space of both spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions of light dark matter candidates.

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S. Autti, A. Casey, N. Eng, N. Darvishi, P. Franchini, R. P. Haley, P. J. Heikkinen, A. Jennings, A. Kemp, E. Leason, L. V. Levitin, J. Monroe, J. March-Russel, M. T. Noble, J. R. Prance, X. Rojas, T. Salmon, J. Saunders, R. Smith, M. D. Thompson, V. Tsepelin, S. M. West, L. Whitehead, V. V. Zavjalov, D. E. Zmeev. 2024-03-14. QUEST-DMC superfluid $^3$He detector for sub-GeV dark matter. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc%2Fs10052-024-12410-8

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