Searching for low mass dark matter via phonon creation in superfluid 4He

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We consider the scattering of dark matter particles from superfluid liquid He-4, which has been proposed as a target for their direct detection. Focusing on dark matter masses below similar to 1 MeV, we demonstrate from sum-rule arguments the importance of the production of single phonons with energies. omega less than or similar to 1 meV. We show further that the anomalous dispersion of phonons in liquid He-4 at low pressures [i.e., d(2)omega(q)/dq(2) > 0, where q and omega(q) are the phonon momentum and energy] has the important consequence that a single phonon will decay over a relatively short distance into a shower of lower-energy phonons centered on the direction of the original phonon. Thus, the experimental challenge in this regime is to detect a shower of low-energy phonons, not just a single phonon. Additional information from the distribution of phonons in such a shower could enhance the determination of the dark matter mass.

Original languageEnglish
Article number035014
JournalPhysical Review D
Volume102
Issue number3
Number of pages18
ISSN1550-7998
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Aug 2020

    Research areas

  • THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY, LIQUID-HE-4, DISPERSION, SCATTERING, TRANSPORT, SPECTRUM

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