Mapping The Neutrino Floor For Dark Matter-Electron Direct Detection Experiments

TL;DR

This paper assesses the potential of future dark matter-electron scattering experiments to detect dark matter amidst solar neutrino backgrounds, highlighting the challenges and dependencies on various experimental and astrophysical factors.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the discovery limits considering neutrino backgrounds and explores how these limits depend on ionization models, exposure, recoil discrimination, and astrophysical uncertainties.

Findings

Neutrino backgrounds significantly impact detection sensitivity.

Ionization model choice affects discovery limits.

Detection prospects vary with experimental parameters and astrophysical assumptions.

Abstract

We study the discovery reach of future Dark Matter (DM) Direct Detection experiments using DM-electron scattering in the presence of the solar neutrino background. At these low energies traditional methods for nuclear and electronic recoil discrimination fail, implying that the neutrino-{\it nucleus} scattering background can be sizable. We calculate discovery limits based on ionization values of signal and background, and quantify the dependence on the ionization model. Moreover, we explore how the dependence of the DM cross section discovery limits vary with exposure, electronic/nuclear recoil discrimination, DM form factors, and DM astrophysical uncertainties.