Improved Constraints on Inelastic Dark Matter

TL;DR

This paper analyzes DAMA data to constrain inelastic dark matter, finding that heavier masses are excluded but lighter masses remain a viable explanation for DAMA's annual modulation signal.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on inelastic dark matter parameter space by combining DAMA spectral data with other detection experiments.

Findings

Inelastic dark matter with mass > 15 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence.

Lighter inelastic dark matter remains a possible explanation for DAMA.

The study refines the viable mass range for inelastic dark matter models.

Abstract

We perform an extensive study of the DAMA annual modulation data in the context of inelastic dark matter. We find that inelastic dark matter with mass m > 15 GeV is excluded at the 95% confidence level by the combination of DAMA spectral information and results from other direct detection experiments. However, at smaller m, inelastic dark matter constitutes a possible solution to the DAMA puzzle.