Light Hidden Fermionic Dark Matter in Neutrino Experiments

TL;DR

This paper explores the possibility of detecting light fermionic dark matter in neutrino experiments via specific interactions, constraining new physics operators, and showing Super-Kamiokande's potential to probe high energy scales.

Contribution

It identifies a viable operator for dark matter detection in neutrino detectors and assesses Super-Kamiokande's sensitivity to this new physics scale.

Findings

Super-Kamiokande can probe new physics scales up to 100 TeV.

Most operators are constrained by dark matter decay limits.

One operator remains viable for observable signals in neutrino detectors.

Abstract

We consider, in a model-independent framework, the potential for observing dark matter in neutrino detectors through the interaction $\bar{f} p \to e^+ n$, where $f$ is a dark fermion. Operators of dimension six or less are considered, and constraints are placed on their coefficients using the dark matter lifetime and its decays to states which include $\gamma$ rays or $e^+e^-$ pairs. After these constraints are applied, there remains one operator which can possibly contribute to $\bar{f} p \to e^+ n$ in neutrino detectors at an observable level. We then consider the results from the Super-Kamiokande relic supernova neutrino search and find that Super-K can probe the new physics scale of this interaction up to $O(100\mbox{ TeV})$.