Dark matter effective field theory scattering in direct detection experiments

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how effective field theory impacts dark matter detection experiments, highlighting the importance of combining multiple data sources and considering spectral differences to accurately constrain dark matter interactions.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive analysis of EFT effects on direct detection limits and discusses implications for future experiments and data analysis methods.

Findings

Exclusion limits vary with EFT interactions compared to standard models.

Spectral differences can bias exclusion limits and signal modeling.

Combining multiple experiments enhances dark matter parameter constraints.

Abstract

We examine the consequences of the effective field theory (EFT) of dark matter-nucleon scattering for current and proposed direct detection experiments. Exclusion limits on EFT coupling constants computed using the optimum interval method are presented for SuperCDMS Soudan, CDMS II, and LUX, and the necessity of combining results from multiple experiments in order to determine dark matter parameters is discussed. We demonstrate that spectral differences between the standard dark matter model and a general EFT interaction can produce a bias when calculating exclusion limits and when developing signal models for likelihood and machine learning techniques. We also discuss the implications of the EFT for the next-generation (G2) direct detection experiments and point out regions of complementarity in the EFT parameter space.