Probing cosmic-ray accelerated light dark matter with IceCube
Abstract
The direct detection of particle dark matter through its scattering with nucleons is of fundamental importance to understand the nature of DM . In this work, we propose that the high-energy neutrino detectors like IceCube can be used to uniquely probe the DM-nucleon cross-section for high-energy DM of ~ PeV, up-scattered by the high-energy cosmic rays. We derive for the first time strong constraints on the DM-nucleon cross-section down to ~ 10-32 cm2 at this energy scale for sub-GeV DM candidates. Such independent probe at energy scale far exceeding other existing direct detection experiments can therefore provide useful insights complementary to other searches.
- Publication:
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Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Pub Date:
- October 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1088/1475-7516/2020/10/049
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2004.03161
- Bibcode:
- 2020JCAP...10..049G
- Keywords:
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- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- High Energy Physics - Experiment;
- High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
- E-Print:
- 16 pages, 6 figures. Published version