Ultra-Heavy Dark Matter Search with Electron Microscopy of Geological Quartz. (arXiv:2105.03998v2 [hep-ph] UPDATED)
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Ebadi_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Reza Ebadi</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Mathur_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Anubhav Mathur</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Tanin_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">Erwin H. Tanin</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Tailby_N/0/1/0/all/0/1">Nicholas D. Tailby</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Marshall_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Mason C. Marshall</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Ravi_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Aakash Ravi</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Trubko_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Raisa Trubko</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Fu_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Roger R. Fu</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Phillips_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">David F. Phillips</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Rajendran_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Surjeet Rajendran</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-ph/1/au:+Walsworth_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Ronald L. Walsworth</a>
Self-interactions within the dark sector could clump dark matter into heavy
composite states with low number density, leading to a highly suppressed event
rate in existing direct detection experiments. However, the large interaction
cross section between such ultra-heavy dark matter (UHDM) and standard model
matter results in a distinctive and compelling signature: long, straight damage
tracks as they pass through and scatter with matter. In this work, we propose
using geologically old quartz samples as large-exposure detectors for UHDM. We
describe a high-resolution readout method based on electron microscopy,
characterize the most favorable geological samples for this approach, and study
its reach in a simple model of the dark sector. The advantage of this search
strategy is two-fold: the age of geological quartz compensates for the low
number density of UHDMs, and the distinct geometry of the damage track serves
as a high-fidelity background rejection tool.
Self-interactions within the dark sector could clump dark matter into heavy
composite states with low number density, leading to a highly suppressed event
rate in existing direct detection experiments. However, the large interaction
cross section between such ultra-heavy dark matter (UHDM) and standard model
matter results in a distinctive and compelling signature: long, straight damage
tracks as they pass through and scatter with matter. In this work, we propose
using geologically old quartz samples as large-exposure detectors for UHDM. We
describe a high-resolution readout method based on electron microscopy,
characterize the most favorable geological samples for this approach, and study
its reach in a simple model of the dark sector. The advantage of this search
strategy is two-fold: the age of geological quartz compensates for the low
number density of UHDMs, and the distinct geometry of the damage track serves
as a high-fidelity background rejection tool.
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