The Tevatron at the Frontier of Dark Matter Direct Detection

TL;DR

This paper explores how Tevatron mono-jet searches can set competitive limits on dark matter interactions, especially for light and spin-dependent cases, and discusses the impact of mediators on these bounds.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of Tevatron mono-jet constraints on dark matter, including scenarios with light mediators and non-standard candidates, highlighting the collider's current leading limits.

Findings

Tevatron sets strong limits for light dark matter below 5 GeV.

Mono-jet searches constrain spin-dependent interactions effectively.

Light mediators weaken collider bounds, affecting detection strategies.

Abstract

Direct detection of dark matter (DM) requires an interaction of dark matter particles with nucleons. The same interaction can lead to dark matter pair production at a hadron collider, and with the addition of initial state radiation this may lead to mono-jet signals. Mono-jet searches at the Tevatron can thus place limits on DM direct detection rates. We study these bounds both in the case where there is a contact interaction between DM and the standard model and where there is a mediator kinematically accessible at the Tevatron. We find that in many cases the Tevatron provides the current best limit, particularly for light dark matter, below 5 GeV, and for spin dependent interactions. Non-standard dark matter candidates are also constrained. The introduction of a light mediator significantly weakens the collider bound. A direct detection discovery that is in apparent conflict with mono-jet limits will thus point to a new light state coupling the standard model to the dark sector. Mono-jet searches with more luminosity and including the spectrum shape in the analysis can improve the constraints on DM-nucleon scattering cross section.