QUEST-DMC superfluid \(^3\)He detector for sub-GeV dark matter

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Autti, S, Casey, A, Eng, N, Darvishi, N, Franchini, P, Haley, R P, Heikkinen, P J, Jennings, A, Kemp, A, Leason, E, Levitin, L V, Monroe, J, March-Russel, J, Noble, M T, Prance, J R, Rojas, X, Salmon, T, Saunders, J, Smith, R, Thompson, M D, Tsepelin, V, West, S M, Whitehead, L, Zavjalov, V V, Zmeev, D E
• Format: Paper
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 14.03.2024
• Subjects: Dark matter; Elementary excitations; Energy measurement; Fluids; Searching; Sensors; Superfluidity; Weakly interacting massive particles
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2310.11304

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.