Physics from solar neutrinos in dark matter direct detection experiments

TY - JOUR

T1 - Physics from solar neutrinos in dark matter direct detection experiments

AU - Cerdeño, David G.

AU - Fairbairn, Malcolm

AU - Jubb, Thomas

AU - Machado, Pedro A N

AU - Vincent, Aaron C.

AU - Bœhm, Céline

PY - 2016/5/20

Y1 - 2016/5/20

N2 - The next generation of dark matter direct detection experiments will be sensitive to both coherent neutrino-nucleus and neutrino-electron scattering. This will enable them to explore aspects of solar physics, perform the lowest energy measurement of the weak angle sin2θWto date, and probe contributions from new theories with light mediators. In this article, we compute the projected nuclear and electron recoil rates expected in several dark matter direct detection experiments due to solar neutrinos, and use these estimates to quantify errors on future measurements of the neutrino fluxes, weak mixing angle and solar observables, as well as to constrain new physics in the neutrino sector. Our analysis shows that the combined rates of solar neutrino events in second generation experiments (SuperCDMS and LZ) can yield a measurement of the pp flux to 2.5% accuracy via electron recoil, and slightly improve the8B flux determination. Assuming a low-mass argon phase, projected tonne-scale experiments like DARWIN can reduce the uncertainty on both the pp and boron-8 neutrino fluxes to below 1%. Finally, we use current results from LUX, SuperCDMS and CDMSlite to set bounds on new interactions between neutrinos and electrons or nuclei, and show that future direct detection experiments can be used to set complementary constraints on the parameter space associated with light mediators.

AB - The next generation of dark matter direct detection experiments will be sensitive to both coherent neutrino-nucleus and neutrino-electron scattering. This will enable them to explore aspects of solar physics, perform the lowest energy measurement of the weak angle sin2θWto date, and probe contributions from new theories with light mediators. In this article, we compute the projected nuclear and electron recoil rates expected in several dark matter direct detection experiments due to solar neutrinos, and use these estimates to quantify errors on future measurements of the neutrino fluxes, weak mixing angle and solar observables, as well as to constrain new physics in the neutrino sector. Our analysis shows that the combined rates of solar neutrino events in second generation experiments (SuperCDMS and LZ) can yield a measurement of the pp flux to 2.5% accuracy via electron recoil, and slightly improve the8B flux determination. Assuming a low-mass argon phase, projected tonne-scale experiments like DARWIN can reduce the uncertainty on both the pp and boron-8 neutrino fluxes to below 1%. Finally, we use current results from LUX, SuperCDMS and CDMSlite to set bounds on new interactions between neutrinos and electrons or nuclei, and show that future direct detection experiments can be used to set complementary constraints on the parameter space associated with light mediators.

KW - Beyond Standard Model

KW - Neutrino Physics

KW - Solar and Atmospheric Neutrinos

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84971251101&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/JHEP05(2016)118

DO - 10.1007/JHEP05(2016)118

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84971251101

SN - 1126-6708

VL - 2016

JO - Journal of High Energy Physics

JF - Journal of High Energy Physics

IS - 5

M1 - 118

ER -