2018/12/18 by Ahmet Coskuner, Dorota M. Grabowska, Simon Knapen +1 · 53 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Atomic physics #Bound state #Condensed matter physics #Cosmology #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark energy #Dark matter #Excitation #Helium #Light dark matter #Nucleon #Particle physics #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Scalar field dark matter #Sensitivity (control systems) #Superfluid helium-4 #Superfluidity #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.100.035025
published in Physical review. D/Physical review. D. 100(3) (American Physical Society) · 43 pages, 9 figures
arxiv created 2018/12/18 · openalex publication_date 2019/08/27 · arxiv updated 2019/09/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We study the reach of direct detection experiments for large bound states (containing 104 or more dark nucleons) of asymmetric dark matter. We consider ordinary nuclear recoils, excitation of collective modes (phonons), and electronic excitations, paying careful attention to the impact of the energy threshold of the experiment. Large exposure experiments with keV energy thresholds provide the best (future) limits when the dark matter is small enough to be treated as a point particle, but rapidly lose sensitivity for more extended dark bound states, or when the mediator is light. In those cases, low threshold, low exposure experiments (such as with a superfluid helium, polar material or superconducting target) are often more sensitive due to coherent enhancement over the dark nucleons. We also discuss indirect constraints on composite asymmetric dark matter arising from self-interaction, formation history, and the properties of the composite states themselves.