Dark Matter Interpretations for Direct Detection

WET
Lincoln College, Oxford

Lincoln College, Oxford

David G. Cerdeño (IPPP, Durham University), Paolo Beltrame (University of Edinburgh), Steven Worm, Çiğdem İşsever (Oxford)
Description

Dark Matter Interpretations for Direct Detection will be held at Lincoln College, Oxford on August 9, 2016. The workshop will focus on the recent use of Effective Field Theories and Simplified Models to characterise non-relativistic, momentum-dependent interactions of dark matter in direct detection experiments. In addition we plan to discuss the uncertainties introduced by these new techniques, the underpinning theoretical and astrophysical assumptions, and how each of these influence the final dark matter interpretation.

 

The Workshop is supported by:

                 

Participants
  • Alex Murphy
  • Alfredo Tomas
  • Amy Cottle
  • Andreas Piepke
  • Andrew Cheek
  • Anne Green
  • Antonin Vacheret
  • Asher Kaboth
  • Benjamin Farmer
  • Billy Boxer
  • Brais Lopez Paredes
  • Cees Carels
  • Chamkaur Ghag
  • Chiara Aquino
  • Christina Ignarra
  • Christopher McCabe
  • David G. Cerdeño
  • David Woodward
  • Elena Korolkova
  • Fady Bishara
  • FengTing Liao
  • Harry Nelson
  • Hassan Qureshi
  • Hugh Lippincott
  • Ibles Olcina
  • Javier Menendez
  • Jeremy Mock
  • Ji-Haeng Huh
  • Jim Dobson
  • Jonathan Davis
  • Junsong Lin
  • Kathryn Boast
  • Malcolm Fairbairn
  • Marc Thomas
  • Maria Francesca Marzioni
  • Maryvonne De Jesus
  • Masaki Yamashita
  • Matthew Szydagis
  • Nicolas Angelides
  • Nicole Larsen
  • Olivier Lennon
  • Paolo Beltrame
  • Pawel Majewski
  • Peter Rossiter
  • Ran Itay
  • Riccardo Catena
  • Sally Shaw
  • Sergey Balashov
  • Sergey Burdin
  • Stephen West
  • Steven Worm
  • Theresa Fruth
  • Thomas Davison
  • Tu Thong Tran
  • Tyana Stiegler
  • Uli Haisch
  • Çiğdem İŞSEVER
    • Morning Session
      • 1
        Welcome/Intro
        Slides
      • 2
        SuperCDMS @ EFT
        Speaker: Dr David G. Cerdeño (IPPP, Durham University)
        Slides
      • 3
        Non-relativistic effective theory approach to dark matter direct detection
        Direct detection (DD) experiments will play a pivotal role in shedding light on the nature of dark matter during the next decade. An effective theory approach is a solid strategy to interpret DD experiments when the momentum transferred in the dark matter scattering by nuclei is small compared to the mass of the particle mediating the interaction. In this talk I compare a recently developed non-relativistic effective theory for dark matter-nucleon interactions to current DD data, including the observation of a modulation signal in the nuclear recoil energy spectrum reported by the DAMA collaboration. Emphasis will be placed on the comparison between the proposed approach and the standard paradigm.
        Speaker: Riccardo Catena
        Slides
      • 10:50
        (coffee)
      • 4
        An Effective Field Theory Analysis of the LUX Dark Matter Search
        Speaker: Dr Nicole Larsen
        Slides
      • 5
        Renormalization group effects in Dark Matter direct detection
        Speaker: Fady Bishara (University of Oxford)
        Slides
    • 12:30
      Lunch
    • Afternoon Session
      • 6
        Dark matter effective field theory scattering in the XE100 detector
        Speaker: Ran Itay
        Slides
      • 7
        Prospects for dark matter detection with inelastic transitions of xenon
        Dark matter can scatter and excite a nucleus to a low-lying excitation in a direct detection experiment. This signature is distinct from the canonical elastic scattering signal because the inelastic signal also contains the energy deposited from the subsequent prompt de-excitation of the nucleus. A measurement of the elastic and inelastic signal will allow a single experiment to distinguish between a spin-independent and spin-dependent interaction. For the first time, we characterise the inelastic signal for two-phase xenon detectors in which dark matter inelastically scatters off the Xe-129 or Xe-131 isotope. We do this by implementing a realistic simulation of a typical tonne-scale two-phase xenon detector and by carefully estimating the relevant background signals. With our detector simulation, we explore whether the inelastic signal from the axial-vector interaction is detectable with upcoming tonne-scale detectors. We find that two-phase detectors allow for some discrimination between signal and background so that it is possible to detect dark matter that inelastically scatters off either the Xe-129 or Xe-131 isotope for dark matter particles that are heavier than approximately 100 GeV. If, after two years of data, the XENON1T search for elastic scattering nuclei finds no evidence for dark matter, the possibility of ever detecting an inelastic signal from the axial-vector interaction will be almost entirely excluded.
        Speaker: Christopher McCabe
        Slides
      • 8
        Leading corrections to spin-independent WIMP scattering off nuclei
        Speaker: Javier Menéndez
        Slides
      • 15:00
        (coffee)
      • 9
        EFT/simplified models
        Speaker: Mr Uli Haisch (Oxford University)
        Slides
      • 10
        Impact of astrophysical uncertainties on WIMP direct detection
        Speaker: Prof. Anne Green (University of Nottingham)
        Slides
      • 11
        Quantifying compatibility among WIMP direct search data in a halo-independent way
        We propose a novel halo-independent way of reporting the level of compatibility among WIMP direct search data sets. The main ingredient of the method is 'plausibility region', where any halo-function that can bring a certain level of compatibility should be fully contained in. The construction of the region is based on a new test statistic called "constrained parameter goodness-of-fit", which is a modification of parameter goodness-of-fit designed to gauge mutual compatibility among data sets. The method can be used to further exclude the region inside the pointwise confidence band constructed from a global likelihood. As a demonstration, we apply the method to CDMS-II-Si and SuperCDMS data for WIMPs with elastic or exothermic inelastic SI interactions.
        Speaker: Ji-haeng Huh
        Slides
      • 12
        Dark Matter Detectors and the Neutrino Wall
        Speaker: Malcolm Fairbairn
        Slides
      • 13
        closeout/discussion
        Slides
    • 19:00
      Workshop Dinner

      https://www.haraldjoergens.com/panoramas/lincoln-college/files/index.html#node2