Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering in multi-ton scale dark matter experiments: Classification of vector and scalar interactions new physics signals

TL;DR

This paper classifies potential new physics signals in coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering within multi-ton xenon dark matter detectors, focusing on vector and scalar interactions, and proposes methods to distinguish them using spectral measurements and multiple detectors.

Contribution

It provides a detailed classification of vector and scalar new physics signals in CE u NS, including strategies to distinguish them using spectral features and multiple detectors.

Findings

Spectral measurements can differentiate vector from scalar interactions in some regions.

Combining data from two detectors helps determine the isospin nature of the interactions.

Current xenon experiments have potential to probe these new physics signals.

Abstract

We classify new physics signals in coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) processes induced by $^8$B solar neutrinos in multi-ton xenon dark matter (DM) detectors. Our analysis focuses on vector and scalar interactions in the effective and light mediator limits after considering the constraints emerging from the recent COHERENT data and neutrino masses. In both cases we identify a region where measurements of the event spectrum alone suffice to establish whether the new physics signal is related with vector or scalar couplings. We identify as well a region where measurements of the recoil spectrum are required so to establish the nature of the new interaction, and categorize the spectral features that enable distinguishing the vector from the scalar case. We demonstrate that measurements of the isospin nature of the new interaction and thereby removal of isospin related degeneracies are possible by combining independent measurements from two different detectors. We also comment on the status of searches for vector and scalar interactions for on-going multi-ton year xenon experiments.