Constraints from the Neutron EDM on Subleading Effective Operators for Direct Dark Matter Searches

TL;DR

This paper investigates how neutron electric dipole moment measurements constrain subleading, CP-violating operators in dark matter-nucleon interactions, highlighting scenarios where these operators dominate direct detection signals without inducing an EDM.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of subleading effective operators in dark matter interactions, linking their phenomenology to neutron EDM constraints and identifying models where they can dominate detection signals.

Findings

Subleading CP-violating operators can dominate direct detection signals under maximal CP violation.

Neutron EDM bounds typically suppress the observable effects of certain operators.

Some models with specific operators do not induce a neutron EDM, evading experimental constraints.

Abstract

Interactions between Dark Matter (DM) and nucleons relevant for direct search experiments can be organised in a model independent manner using a Galiliean invariant, non--relativistic effective field theory (NREFT). Here one expands the interactions in powers of the momentum transfer $\vec{q}$ and DM velocity $\vec{v}$. This approach generates many operators. The potentially most important subleading operators are odd under $T$, and can thus only be present in a theory with $CP$ violating interactions. We consider two such operators, called $\mathcal{O}_{10}$ and $\mathcal{O}_{11}$ in the literature, in simplified models with neutral spin$-0$ mediators; the couplings are chosen such that the coefficient of the leading spin independent (SI) operator, which survives for $\vec{v} \rightarrow 0$, vanishes at tree level. However, it is generically induced at the next order in perturbation theory. We perform a numerical comparison of the number of scattering events between interactions involving the $T-$odd operators and the corresponding loop induced SI contributions. We find that for ''maximal'' $CP$ violation the former can dominate over the latter. However, in two of the three models we consider, an electric dipole moment of the neutron (nEDM) is induced at two--loop order. We find that the experimental bound on the nEDM typically leads to undetectably small rates induced by ${\mathcal O}_{10}$. On the other hand, the model leading to a nonvanishing coefficient of ${\mathcal O}_{11}$ does not induce an nEDM.