Dark Matter Detection with Strongly Correlated Topological Materials: Flatband Effect

TL;DR

This paper proposes using strongly correlated topological semimetals, specifically Weyl semimetals with flatband effects, to significantly improve light dark matter detection sensitivity by expanding scattering phase space while keeping dielectric response weak.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach utilizing strongly correlated Weyl semimetals to enhance dark matter detection, leveraging flatband effects to increase scattering phase space.

Findings

Flatband effects amplify dark matter coupling.

Detection sensitivity is significantly increased.

Weak dielectric response is maintained.

Abstract

Dirac materials have been proposed as a new class of electron-based detectors for light dark-matter (DM) scattering or absorption, with predicted sensitivities far exceeding superconductors and superfluid helium. The superiority of Dirac materials originates from a significantly reduced in-medium dielectric response winning over the suppression of DM scattering owing to the limited phase space at the point-like Fermi surface. Here we propose a new route to enhance significantly the DM detection efficiency via strongly correlated topological semimetals. Specifically, by considering a strongly correlated Weyl semimetal model system, we demonstrate that the strong correlation-induced flatband effects can amplify the coupling and detection sensitivity to light DM particles by expanding the scattering phase space, while maintaining a weak dielectric in-medium response.