Journal of High Energy Physics (Mar 2019)

Limits on interactions between weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons obtained with NaI(Tl) crystal detectors

  • The KIMS collaboration,
  • K. W. Kim,
  • G. Adhikari,
  • P. Adhikari,
  • S. Choi,
  • C. Ha,
  • I. S. Hahn,
  • E. J. Jeon,
  • H. W. Joo,
  • W. G. Kang,
  • H. J. Kim,
  • N. Y. Kim,
  • S. K. Kim,
  • Y. D. Kim,
  • Y. H. Kim,
  • Y. J. Ko,
  • H. S. Lee,
  • J. S. Lee,
  • J. Y. Lee,
  • M. H. Lee,
  • D. S. Leonard,
  • S. L. Olsen,
  • B. J. Park,
  • H. K. Park,
  • H. S. Park,
  • K. S. Park

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP03(2019)194
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2019, no. 3
pp. 1 – 14

Abstract

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Abstract Limits on the cross section for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) elastic scattering on nuclei in NaI(Tl) detectors at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory are obtained from a 2967.4 kg·day data exposure. The nuclei recoiling from the scattering process are identified by the pulse shape of the scintillation light signals that they produce. The data are consistent with a no nuclear-recoil hypothesis, and WIMP-mass-dependent 90% confidence-level upper-limits are set on WIMP-nuclei elastic scattering cross sections. These limits partially exclude the DAMA/LIBRA allowed region for WIMP-sodium interactions with the same NaI(Tl) target material. The 90% confidence level upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section is 3.26×10−4 pb for a WIMP mass of 10 GeV/c2.

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