Solar-reflected inelastic dark matter produces detectable signals in xenon and semiconductor detectors, enabling new constraints on MeV-scale dark matter parameter space.
Directly Detecting MeV-scale Dark Matter via Solar Reflection
4 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
If dark matter (DM) particles are lighter than a few MeV/$c^2$ and can scatter off electrons, their interaction within the solar interior results in a considerable hardening of the spectrum of galactic dark matter received on Earth. For a large range of the mass vs. cross section parameter space, $\{m_e, \sigma_e\}$, the "reflected" component of the DM flux is far more energetic than the endpoint of the ambient galactic DM energy distribution, making it detectable with existing DM detectors sensitive to an energy deposition of $10-10^3$ eV. After numerically simulating the small reflected component of the DM flux, we calculate its subsequent signal due to scattering on detector electrons, deriving new constraints on $\sigma_e$ in the MeV and sub-MeV range using existing data from the XENON10/100, LUX, PandaX-II, and XENON1T experiments, as well as making projections for future low threshold direct detection experiments.
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hep-ph 4years
2026 4representative citing papers
The nuclear star cluster around Sgr A* is the dominant source of gravitationally boosted dark matter in the Milky Way, with particles up to ~25,000 km/s that enhance sub-GeV detection prospects independently of the DM model.
Hawking-evaporating primordial black holes could boost light dark matter to detectable energies, and the new electron-recoil constraints from XENONnT, LZ, and PandaX-4T tighten limits on its mass and cross-section.
Boosted sub-GeV dark matter from atmospheric cosmic ray bremsstrahlung can be probed by direct detection and neutrino experiments, with enhanced sensitivity near vector mediator resonances.
citing papers explorer
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Solar Reflection of Inelastic Dark Matter
Solar-reflected inelastic dark matter produces detectable signals in xenon and semiconductor detectors, enabling new constraints on MeV-scale dark matter parameter space.
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Boosted Dark Matter from Sagittarius A$^\star$
The nuclear star cluster around Sgr A* is the dominant source of gravitationally boosted dark matter in the Milky Way, with particles up to ~25,000 km/s that enhance sub-GeV detection prospects independently of the DM model.
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Primordial black holes as cosmic accelerators of light dark matter: Novel direct detection constraints
Hawking-evaporating primordial black holes could boost light dark matter to detectable energies, and the new electron-recoil constraints from XENONnT, LZ, and PandaX-4T tighten limits on its mass and cross-section.
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Sub-GeV dark matter from cosmic ray bremsstrahlung in the atmosphere
Boosted sub-GeV dark matter from atmospheric cosmic ray bremsstrahlung can be probed by direct detection and neutrino experiments, with enhanced sensitivity near vector mediator resonances.