Snowmass2021 Cosmic Frontier: The landscape of low-threshold dark matter direct detection in the next decade

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress and future prospects in low-threshold dark matter direct detection, emphasizing the importance of R&D funding to explore new parameter space in the next decade.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the science case, recent advances, and upcoming opportunities in low-threshold dark matter detection.

Findings

Rapid development in particle-like dark matter searches from meV to GeV.

Recent theoretical and experimental progress enabling exploration of new parameter space.

Proposed R&D funding and projects to capitalize on advances in the next decade.

Abstract

The search for particle-like dark matter with meV-to-GeV masses has developed rapidly in the past few years. We summarize the science case for these searches, the recent progress, and the exciting upcoming opportunities. Funding for Research and Development and a portfolio of small dark matter projects will allow the community to capitalize on the substantial recent advances in theory and experiment and probe vast regions of unexplored dark-matter parameter space in the coming decade.