Direct detection of pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone dark matter with light mediator

TL;DR

This paper explores how light mediators can induce detectable elastic scattering of pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson dark matter, potentially allowing for direct detection despite previous suppression.

Contribution

It demonstrates that light mediators can generate a non-zero scattering cross section, altering the recoil spectrum and enabling detection prospects for this class of dark matter.

Findings

Light mediators induce measurable scattering cross sections.

Recoil spectra differ from standard thermal dark matter predictions.

Detectability depends on mediator mass and experimental sensitivity.

Abstract

It has been found that a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson dark matter suppresses the amplitude for elastic scattering with nuclei in non-relativistic limit, and thus can naturally evade the strong constraint of dark matter direct detection experiments. In this paper, we show that non-zero elastic scattering cross section can be induced if the mediator mass is as small as momentum transfer. The predicted recoil energy spectrum can differ from that for usual thermal dark matter. Together with the relevant constraints such as thermal relic abundance, indirect detection and Higgs decays, we investigate the detectability through the current and future dark matter direct detection experiments.