Leptophobic Dark Matter at Neutrino Factories

TL;DR

High-luminosity neutrino experiments can effectively search for light leptophobic dark matter coupled via gauged baryon number, surpassing current direct detection limits in the sub-GeV mass range.

Contribution

This paper demonstrates the potential of fixed-target neutrino experiments to probe light leptophobic dark matter through baryonic interactions, extending sensitivity beyond existing bounds.

Findings

MiniBooNE can reach sensitivity to   10^{-6}

Sensitivity extends to sub-GeV dark matter masses

Significantly improves over current direct detection limits

Abstract

High-luminosity fixed-target neutrino experiments present a new opportunity to search for light sub-GeV dark matter and associated new forces. We analyze the physics reach of these experiments to light leptophobic dark states coupled to the Standard Model via gauging the $U(1)_B$ baryon current. When the baryonic vector is light, and can decay to dark matter, we find that the MiniBooNE experiment in its current beam-dump configuration can extend sensitivity to the baryonic fine structure constant down to $\alpha_B\sim 10^{-6}$. This is significantly below the existing limits over much of the sub-GeV mass range currently inaccessible to direct detection experiments.