Annual modulations from secular variations: relaxing DAMA?
A bstract The DAMA collaboration reported an annually modulated rate with a phase compatible with a Dark Matter induced signal. We point out that a slowly varying rate can bias or even simulate an annual modulation if data are analyzed in terms of residuals computed by subtracting approximately year...
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Published in | The journal of high energy physics Vol. 2020; no. 4; pp. 1 - 21 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Berlin/Heidelberg
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
01.04.2020
Springer Nature B.V SpringerOpen |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | A
bstract
The DAMA collaboration reported an annually modulated rate with a phase compatible with a Dark Matter induced signal. We point out that a slowly varying rate can bias or even simulate an annual modulation if data are analyzed in terms of residuals computed by subtracting approximately yearly averages starting from a fixed date, rather than a background continuous in time. In the most extreme case, the amplitude and phase of the annual modulation reported by DAMA could be alternatively interpreted as a decennial growth of the rate. This possibility appears mildly disfavoured by a detailed study of the available data, but cannot be safely excluded. In general, a decreasing or increasing rate could partially reduce or enhance a true annual modulation, respectively. The issue could be clarified by looking at the full time-dependence of the DAMA total rate, not explicitly published so far. |
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ISSN: | 1029-8479 1029-8479 |
DOI: | 10.1007/JHEP04(2020)137 |