Constraining Dark Matter Models with a Light Mediator from PandaX-II Experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports on direct detection experiments using PandaX-II to search for dark matter with a light mediator, setting new limits on interaction cross sections and constraining self-interacting dark matter models across a wide mass range.

Contribution

It provides the first direct detection constraints on dark matter models with a light mediator, especially in the low-mass regime, using data from PandaX-II.

Findings

Set upper limits on dark matter-nucleon cross sections dependent on mediator mass.

Constrained parameter space for self-interacting dark matter with a light mediator.

Excluded significant regions of dark matter mass from 5 GeV to 10 TeV.

Abstract

We search for nuclear recoil signals of dark matter models with a light mediator in PandaX-II, a direct detection experiment in China Jinping underground Laboratory. Using data collected in 2016 and 2017 runs, corresponding to a total exposure of 54 ton day, we set upper limits on the zero-momentum dark matter-nucleon cross section. These limits have a strong dependence on the mediator mass when it is comparable to or below the typical momentum transfer. We apply our results to constrain self-interacting dark matter models with a light mediator mixing with standard model particles, and set strong limits on the model parameter space for the dark matter mass ranging from $5~{\rm GeV}$ to $10~{\rm TeV}$.