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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Low-energy radiative backgrounds in CCD-based dark-matter detectors

The reach of sub-GeV dark-matter detectors is at present severely affected by low-energy events from various origins. We present the theoretical methods to compute the single- and few-electron events that arise from secondary radiation emitted by high-energy particles as they pass through detector materials and perform a detailed simulation to quantify them at (Skipper) CCD-based experiments, focusing on the SENSEI data collected at Fermilab near the MINOS cavern. The simulations account for the generation of secondaries from Cherenkov and luminescent recombination radiation; photo-absorption in the bulk, backside layer, pitch adapter, and epoxy; the photon reflection and refraction at interfaces; thin-film interference; the roughness of the interfaces; the dynamics of charges produced in the highly doped CCD-backside-layers; and the partial charge collection on the CCD backside. We consider several systematic uncertainties, notably those stemming from the backside modeling, which we estimate with a “fiducial” and an “extreme” charge-diffusion model, with the former model being preferred due to better agreement with partial-charge collection data. We find that Cherenkov photons constitute about 30% of the observed single-electron events for both diffusion models; radiative recombination contributes negligibly to the event rate for the fiducial model, although it can dominate over Cherenkov for the extreme model. We also estimate the fraction of 2-electron events that arise from 1-electron event coincidences in the same pixel, finding that the entire 2-electron rate can be explained by coincidences of radiative events and spurious charge. Accounting for both radiative and non-radiative backgrounds, we project the sensitivity of future Skipper-CCD-based experiments to different dark-matter models. For light-mediator models with dark-matter masses of 1, 5, and 10 MeV, we find that future experiments with 10-kg-year exposures and successful background mitigation could have a sensitivity that is larger by 9, 3, and 2 orders of magnitude, respectively, when compared to an experiment without background improvements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

The phase-space structure of dark matter haloes

ABSTRACT The phase space structure of dark matter haloes can be used to measure the mass of the halo, infer mass accretion rates, and probe the effects of modified gravity. Previous studies showed that the splashback radius can be measured in position space using a sharp drop in the density profile. Using N-body simulations, we model the distribution of the kinematically distinct infalling and orbiting populations of subhaloes and haloes. We show that the two are mixed spatially all the way to redge, which extends past the splashback radius defined by the drop in the spherically averaged density profile. This edge radius can be interpreted as a radius that contains a fixed fraction of the apocentres of dark matter particles. Our results highlight the possibility of measuring the outer boundary of a dark matter halo using its phase space structure and provide a firm theoretical foundation to the satellite galaxy model adopted in the companion paper, where we analysed the phase space distribution of Sloan Digital Sky Survey redMaPPer clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Renormalization group effects in dark matter interactions

We present a renormalization-group (RG) analysis of dark matter interactions with the standard model, where dark matter is allowed to be a component of an electroweak multiplet, and has a mass at or below the electroweak scale. We consider, in addition to the gauge interactions, the complete set of effective operators for dark matter interactions with the standard model above the weak scale, up to and including mass dimension six. We calculate the RG evolution of these operators from the high scale Λ down to the weak scale, and perform the matching to the tower of effective theories below the weak scale. We also summarize the RG evolution below the weak scale and the matching to the nonrelativistic nuclear interactions. We present several numerical examples and show that in certain cases the dark matter — nucleus scattering rate can change by orders of magnitude when the electroweak running is included.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Summarizing experimental sensitivities of collider experiments to dark matter models and comparison to other experiments

Comparisons of the coverage of current and proposed dark matter searches can help us to understand the context in which a discovery of particle dark matter would be made. In some scenarios, a discovery could be reinforced by information from multiple, complementary types of experiments; in others, only one experiment would see a signal, giving only a partial, more ambiguous picture; in still others, no experiment would be sensitive and new approaches would be needed. In this whitepaper, we present an update to a similar study performed for the European Strategy Briefing Book performed within the dark matter at the Energy Frontier (EF10) Snowmass Topical Group We take as a starting point a set of projections for future collider facilities and a method of graphical comparisons routinely performed for LHC DM searches using simplified models recommended by the LHC Dark Matter Working Group and also used for the BSM and dark matter chapters of the European Strategy Briefing Book. These comparisons can also serve as launching point for cross-frontier discussions about dark matter complementarity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

t -channel dark matter models – a whitepaper

This report, summarising work achieved in the context of the LHC Dark Matter Working Group, investigates the phenomenology of t -channel dark matter models, spanning minimal setups with a single dark matter candidate and mediator to more complex constructions closer to UV-complete models. For each considered class of models, we examine collider, cosmological and astrophysical implications. In addition, we explore scenarios with either promptly decaying or long-lived particles, as well as featuring diverse dark matter production mechanisms in the early universe. By providing a unified analysis framework, numerical tools and guidelines, this work aims to support future experimental and theoretical efforts in exploring t -channel dark matter models at colliders and in cosmology.

Arina, Chiara [Universite Catholique de Louvain, L↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unveiling the dark matter of riverine dissolved organic matter and its role in molecular chemodiversity

Chemodiversity of riverine dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a crucial role in global elemental cycles and ecosystem function. However, DOM “dark matter”—molecules without assigned specific formulae—remain unexplored in the interpretation of chemodiversity. Here, we systematically investigated the characteristics and drivers of dark matter and its impacts on DOM chemodiversity using 551 river water and sediment samples. Compared to known matter with specific formulae, dark matter exhibited lower molecular weight and diversity, but higher compositional dissimilarity, with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) as the primary driver. Including dark matter into chemodiversity analysis changed mass, diversity, and compositional dissimilarity of DOM from –10.1 to –0.04 %, –0.7 to 4.9 %, and 0.4 to 28.8 % in waters, and from –17.5 to 5.7 %, –10.5 to 19.2 %, and –22.3 to 33.1 % in sediments, respectively. DOC mediated these ecosystem-dependent effects: lower DOC amplified the effects on chemodiversity in waters, whereas in sediments, the effects shifted from negative to positive with changing DOC. Furthermore, ignoring dark matter would overestimate the regulatory role of DOC on sediment DOM chemodiversity. In conclusion, collectively, our findings clarify the influence of dark matter on DOM chemodiversity assessments across environmental gradients, improving understanding of riverine DOM and refining its analytical framework.

Chemodiversity↗
DOE OSTI2026

First High-Throughput Evaluation of Dark Matter Detector Materials

In this work we perform the first high-throughput search and evaluation of materials that can serve as excellent low-mass dark matter detectors. Using properties of close to 1000 materials from the Materials Project database, we project the sensitivity in dark matter parameter space for experiments constructed from each material, including both absorption and scattering processes between dark matter and electrons. Using the anisotropic materials in the dataset, we further compute the level of daily modulation in interaction rates and the resulting directional sensitivities, highlighting materials with prospects to detect the dark matter wind. Our methods provide the basic tools for the data-driven design of dark matter detectors, and our findings lay the groundwork for the next generation of highly optimized direct searches for dark matter as light as the keV scale. This represents a major step in the application of results from condensed matter physics to dark matter search design.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for inelastic boosted dark matter with the ICARUS detector at the Gran Sasso Underground National Laboratory

We present the result of a search for inelastic boosted dark matter using the data corresponding to an exposure of 0.13 kton · year , collected by the ICARUS T-600 detector during its 2012–2013 operational period at the INFN Gran Sasso Underground National Laboratory. The benchmark boosted dark matter model features a multiparticle dark sector with a U ( 1 ) ′ gauge boson, the dark photon. The kinetic mixing of the dark photon with the Standard Model photon allows for a portal between the dark sector and the visible sector. The inelastic boosted dark matter interaction occurs when a dark matter particle inelastically scatters with an electron in the ICARUS detector, producing an outgoing, heavier dark sector state which subsequently decays back down to the dark matter particle, emitting a dark photon. The dark photon subsequently couples to a Standard Model photon through kinetic mixing. The Standard Model photon then converts to an electron-positron pair in the detector. This interaction process provides a distinct experimental signature that consists of a recoil electron from the primary interaction and an associated electron-positron pair from the secondary vertex. After analyzing 4,134 triggered events, the search results in zero observed events. Exclusion limits are set in the dark photon mass and coupling ( m X , ε ) parameter space for several selected optimal boosted dark matter mass sets and cover previously unexplored parameter space. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A next-generation liquid xenon observatory for dark matter and neutrino physics

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Constraints on dark matter scattering with long lived mediators from observations of the Sun with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

The Sun represents a promising target for indirect dark matter searches, as dark matter particles from the Galactic halo can be gravitationally trapped in its core or in external orbits, and their annihilations can lead to final states with standard model particles that are able to reach the Earth. In this work we have considered a scenario in which dark matter particles can annihilate into pairs of long-lived mediators, which in turn can escape from the Sun and decay into pairs of gamma rays or into the bb̅, τ+τ-, μ+μ- channels, with the production of gamma rays in the final states. All these processes are expected to yield an excess in the energy spectrum of gamma rays towards the Sun. We have therefore analyzed the data collected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope during its first 13.5 years of operation, searching for possible excesses in the solar gamma-ray spectrum. Since no statistically significant excess is found, we have set constraints on the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross sections in both the spin-dependent and spin-independent cases. For all the mediator decay channels explored and for dark matter masses between a few GeV/c 2 and 1 TeV/c 2 , we have found that the upper limits on the spin-dependent and spin-independent cross sections are in the ranges from 10 -45 to 10 -39 cm 2 and from 10 -47 up to 10 -42 cm 2 , respectively.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bounds on Velocity-dependent Dark Matter–Proton Scattering from Milky Way Satellite Abundance

We use the latest measurements of the Milky Way satellite population from the Dark Energy Survey and Pan-STARRS1 to infer the most stringent astrophysical bound to date on velocity-dependent interactions between dark matter particles and protons. We model the momentum-transfer cross section as a power law of the relative particle velocity v with a free normalizing amplitude, σ MT = σ 0 v n , to broadly capture the interactions arising within the nonrelativistic effective theory of dark matter–proton scattering. The scattering leads to a momentum and heat transfer between the baryon and dark matter fluids in the early universe, ultimately erasing structure on small physical scales and reducing the abundance of low-mass halos that host dwarf galaxies today. From the consistency of observations with the cold collisionless dark matter paradigm, using a new method that relies on the most robust predictions of the linear perturbation theory, we infer an upper limit on σ0 of 1.4 × 10 -23 , 2.1 × 10 -19 , and 1.0 × 10 -12 cm 2 , for interaction models with n = 2, 4, and 6, respectively, for a dark matter particle mass of 10 MeV. These results improve observational limits on dark matter–proton scattering by orders of magnitude and thus provide an important guide for viable sub-GeV dark matter candidates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Light Dark Matter Searches at Fermilab

Accelerator-based dark sector searches present an excellent opportunity to discover the particles that constitute cosmological dark matter in a laboratory setting. At Fermilab, an exciting program of dark sector searches is now underway across a suite of experiments using high intensity, low- and high-energy proton beamlines. Some of these searches are being carried out at neutrino experiments, which bring high luminosity sources of meson decays near large, sensitive detectors and can therefore probe a variety of dark sector models. Additionally, there have been recent studies highlighting the sensitivity of future and proposed experiments to light dark matter and other dark sector models using protons from Fermilab s new PIP-II linac, currently under construction. In this talk, I will give an overview of Fermilab s accelerator-based dark sector search program, highlight recent results, and discuss future prospects.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Scintillating Xenon Bubble Chamber for Dark Matter Detection. Final Report

This report describes the progress in the search for particle dark matter achieved under DOE award DE-SC0012161, as well as the invention of a new dark matter and neutrino detection technique. Work supported by this award follows in three distinct thrusts: (1) the successful completion of the Generation-1 Direct Detection experiment PICO-60, which set the world-leading limit on the spin-dependent coupling of dark matter to protons and achieved a precise understanding of the response of bubble chambers to nuclear-recoil signals and electron-recoil backgrounds; (2) the construction of the Generation-2 Direct Detection experiment LZ, which will soon be the world's most sensitive dark matter detector; and (3) the demonstration of the first scintillating bubble chamber. The development of a scintillating liquid noble bubble chamber was the primary goal of the proposed work, with the aim of combining the excellent background rejection of a PICO-style bubble chamber with the event-by-event energy resolution of a liquid-noble detector such as LZ. This work produced the first ever observation of coincident scintillation and bubble nucleation by a nuclear recoil in a superheated fluid and also revealed an unexpected benefit to the use of noble liquids in a bubble chamber, namely the ability to increase the degree of superheat by an order of magnitude beyond that achievable in PICO-style detectors while maintaining PICO's world-leading background rejection. This discovery has led to new projects in the US and Canada, developing noble liquid bubble chambers both as detectors for low-mass dark matter and as detectors of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) by neutrinos produced at nuclear reactors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dynamical friction in dark matter superfluids: The evolution of black hole binaries

Abstract The theory of superfluid dark matter is characterized by self-interacting sub-eV particles that thermalize and condense to form a superfluid core in galaxies. Massive black holes at the center of galaxies, however, modify the dark matter distribution and result in a density enhancement in their vicinity known as dark matter spikes. The presence of these spikes affects the evolution of binary systems by modifying their gravitational wave emission and inducing dynamical friction effects on the orbiting bodies. In this work, we assess the role of dynamical friction for bodies moving through a superfluid core enhanced by a central massive black hole. As a first step, we compute the dynamical friction force experienced by bodies moving in a circular orbit. Then, we estimate the gravitational wave dephasing of the binary, showing that the effect of the superfluid drag force is beyond the reach of space-based experiments like LISA, contrarily to collisionless dark matter, therefore providing an opportunity to distinguish these dark matter models.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Stimulated Emission of Signal Photons from Dark Matter Waves

The manipulation of quantum states of light has resulted in significant advancements in both dark matter searches and gravitational wave detectors. Current dark matter searches operating in the microwave frequency range use nearly quantum-limited amplifiers. Future high frequency searches will use photon counting techniques to evade the standard quantum limit. We present a signal enhancement technique that utilizes a superconducting qubit to prepare a superconducting microwave cavity in a nonclassical Fock state and stimulate the emission of a photon from a dark matter wave. By initializing the cavity in an | n = 4 ⟩ Fock state, we demonstrate a quantum enhancement technique that increases the signal photon rate and hence also the dark matter scan rate each by a factor of 2.78. Using this technique, we conduct a dark photon search in a band around 5.965 GHz ( 24.67 μ eV ), where the kinetic mixing angle ε ≥ 4.35 × 10 − 13 is excluded at the 90% confidence level. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dark matter microhalos from simplified models

Here, we introduce simplified models for enhancements in the matter power spectrum at small scales and study their implications for dark matter substructure and gravitational observables. These models capture the salient aspects of a variety of early Universe scenarios that predict enhanced small-scale structure, such as axionlike particle dark matter, light vector dark matter, and epochs of early matter domination. We use a model-independent, semianalytic treatment to map bumps in the matter power spectrum to early forming subsolar mass dark matter halos and estimate their evolution, disruption, and contribution to the substructure of clusters and galaxies at late times. We discuss the sensitivity of gravitational observables, including pulsar timing arrays and caustic microlensing, to both the presence of bumps in the power spectrum and variations in their basic properties.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

OSIRIS-REx constraints on local dark matter and cosmic neutrino profiles

We derive purely gravitational constraints on dark matter and cosmic neutrino profiles in the solar system using asteroid (101955) Bennu. We focus on Bennu because of its extensive tracking data and high-fidelity trajectory modeling resulting from the OSIRIS-REx mission. We find that the local density of dark matter is bound by $ρ_{DM}$ ≲ 3.3 × 10 -15 kg/m 3 ≃ 6 × 10 6 $\bar{ρ_{DM}}$, in the vicinity of ~ 1.1 au (where $\bar{ρ_{DM}}$ ≃ 0.3 GeV/cm 3 ). We show that high-precision tracking data of solar system objects can constrain cosmic neutrino overdensities relative to the Standard Model prediction n̅ν, at the level of η ≡ nν/n̅ν ≲ 1.7 × 10 11 (0.1 eV/m ν ) (Saturn), comparable to the existing bounds from KATRIN and other previous laboratory experiments (with m ν the neutrino mass). These local bounds have interesting implications for existing and future direct-detection experiments. Our constraints apply to all dark matter candidates but are particularly meaningful for scenarios including solar halos, stellar basins, and axion miniclusters, which predict overdensities in the solar system. Furthermore, introducing a DM-SM long-range fifth force with a strength tilde alphaDtimes stronger than gravity, Bennu can set a constraint on ρDM ≲ $\bar{ρ_{DM}}$(6 × 10 6 /$_{\tilde{αD}}$). These constraints can be improved in the future as the accuracy of tracking data improves, observational arcs increase, and more missions visit asteroids.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ultralight dark matter detection with levitated ferromagnets

Levitated ferromagnets act as ultraprecise magnetometers, which can exhibit high quality factors due to their excellent isolation from the environment. These instruments can be utilized in searches for ultralight dark matter candidates, such as axionlike dark matter or dark-photon dark matter. In addition to being sensitive to an axion-photon coupling or kinetic mixing, which produce physical magnetic fields, ferromagnets are also sensitive to the effective magnetic field (or “axion wind”) produced by an axion-electron coupling. While the dynamics of a levitated ferromagnet in response to a dc magnetic field have been well studied, all of these couplings would produce ac fields. In this work, we study the response of a ferromagnet to an applied ac magnetic field and use these results to project their sensitivity to axion and dark-photon dark matter. We pay special attention to the direction of motion induced by an applied ac field, in particular, whether it precesses around the applied field (similar to an electron spin) or librates in the plane of the field (similar to a compass needle). We show that existing levitated ferromagnet setups can already have comparable sensitivity to an axion-electron coupling as comagnetometer or torsion balance experiments. In addition, future setups can become sensitive probes of axion-electron coupling, dark-photon kinetic mixing, and axion-photon coupling, for ultralight dark matter masses m DM ≲ feV . Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗