Gravimeter search for compact dark matter objects moving in the Earth

TL;DR

This study uses superconducting gravimeter data to search for compact dark matter objects inside Earth, setting constraints on their mass and orbital radius based on the absence of expected signals.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for detecting or constraining compact dark matter objects within Earth using gravimeter data, providing new limits on their properties.

Findings

No evidence of such dark matter objects was found.

Constraints on mass and orbital radius of dark matter objects inside Earth.

Excluded certain parameter ranges for compact dark matter objects.

Abstract

Dark matter could be composed of compact dark objects (CDOs). These objects may interact very weakly with normal matter and could move freely {\it inside} the Earth. A CDO moving in the inner core of the Earth will have an orbital period near 55 min and produce a time dependent signal in a gravimeter. Data from superconducting gravimeters rule out such objects moving inside the Earth unless their mass $m_D$ and or orbital radius $a$ are very small so that $m_D\, a < 1.2\times 10^{-13}M_\oplus R_\oplus$. Here $M_\oplus$ and $R_\oplus$ are the mass and radius of the Earth.