Neutrino Physics with Dark Matter Experiments and the Signature of New Baryonic Neutral Currents

TL;DR

This paper explores how new baryonic neutrino states, , could interact strongly with baryons, potentially explaining dark matter detection anomalies and implying a new U(1)_B gauge symmetry.

Contribution

It introduces a model where sterile neutrinos couple via baryonic currents, providing a novel explanation for dark matter experiment anomalies and predicting a new gauge boson.

Findings

 neutrinos can produce detectable signals in dark matter detectors.

The proposed interactions can account for existing low-recoil anomalies.

Inelastic scattering processes are suppressed at solar neutrino energies.

Abstract

New neutrino states \nu_b, sterile under the Standard Model interactions, can be coupled to baryons via the isoscalar vector currents that are much stronger than the Standard Model weak interactions. If some fraction of solar neutrinos oscillate into \nu_b on their way to Earth, the coherently enhanced elastic \nu_b-nucleus scattering can generate a strong signal in the dark matter detectors. For the interaction strength a few hundred times stronger than the weak force, the elastic \nu_b-nucleus scattering via new baryonic currents may account for the existing anomalies in the direct detection dark matter experiments at low recoil. We point out that for solar neutrino energies the baryon-current-induced inelastic scattering is suppressed, so that the possible enhancement of new force is not in conflict with signals at dedicated neutrino detectors. We check this explicitly by calculating the \nu_b-induced deuteron breakup, and the excitation of 4.4 MeV \gamma-line in ^{12}C. Stronger-than-weak force coupled to baryonic current implies the existence of new abelian gauge group U(1)_B with a relatively light gauge boson.