Halo independent comparison of direct dark matter detection data

TL;DR

This paper enhances the halo-independent method for direct dark matter detection, allowing for better comparison of experimental results, and finds significant constraints on certain dark matter interaction models.

Contribution

It extends the halo-independent analysis to include energy resolution and efficiency, enabling more accurate comparisons across experiments.

Findings

Isospin-symmetric couplings are strongly constrained by XENON100 and CDMS.

Isospin-violating couplings remain viable at low energies.

CRESST II results are incompatible with DAMA and CoGeNT modulation signals.

Abstract

We extend the halo-independent method of Fox, Liu, and Weiner to include energy resolution and efficiency with arbitrary energy dependence, making it more suitable for experiments to use in presenting their results. Then we compare measurements and upper limits on the direct detection of low mass ($\sim10$ GeV) weakly interacting massive particles with spin-independent interactions, including the upper limit on the annual modulation amplitude from the CDMS collaboration. We find that isospin-symmetric couplings are severely constrained both by XENON100 and CDMS bounds, and that isospin-violating couplings are still possible at the lowest energies, while the tension of the higher energy CoGeNT bins with the CDMS modulation constraint remains. We find the CRESST II signal is not compatible with the modulation signals of DAMA and CoGeNT.