European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields (Jul 2019)

First results on sub-GeV spin-dependent dark matter interactions with $$^{7}$$ 7 Li

  • A. H. Abdelhameed,
  • G. Angloher,
  • P. Bauer,
  • A. Bento,
  • E. Bertoldo,
  • C. Bucci,
  • L. Canonica,
  • A. D’Addabbo,
  • X. Defay,
  • S. Di Lorenzo,
  • A. Erb,
  • F. v. Feilitzsch,
  • N. Ferreiro Iachellini,
  • S. Fichtinger,
  • A. Fuss,
  • P. Gorla,
  • D. Hauff,
  • J. Jochum,
  • A. Kinast,
  • H. Kluck,
  • H. Kraus,
  • A. Langenkämper,
  • M. Mancuso,
  • V. Mokina,
  • E. Mondragon,
  • A. Münster,
  • M. Olmi,
  • T. Ortmann,
  • C. Pagliarone,
  • L. Pattavina,
  • F. Petricca,
  • W. Potzel,
  • F. Pröbst,
  • F. Reindl,
  • J. Rothe,
  • K. Schäffner,
  • J. Schieck,
  • V. Schipperges,
  • D. Schmiedmayer,
  • S. Schönert,
  • C. Schwertner,
  • M. Stahlberg,
  • L. Stodolsky,
  • C. Strandhagen,
  • R. Strauss,
  • C. Türkoğlu,
  • I. Usherov,
  • M. Willers,
  • V. Zema,
  • (THE CRESST Collaboration),
  • M. Chapellier,
  • A. Giuliani,
  • C. Nones,
  • D. V. Poda,
  • V. N. Shlegel,
  • M. Velázquez,
  • A. S. Zolotarova

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-019-7126-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 79, no. 7
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract In this work, we want to highlight the potential of lithium as a target for spin-dependent dark matter search in cryogenic experiments, with a special focus on the low-mass region of the parameter space. We operated a prototype detector module based on a $$\hbox {Li}_2\hbox {MoO}_4$$ Li2MoO4 target crystal in an above-ground laboratory. Despite the high background environment, the detector sets a competitive limit on spin-dependent interactions of dark matter particles with protons and neutrons for masses between $$0.8~\hbox {GeV/c}^2$$ 0.8GeV/c2 and $$1.5~\hbox {GeV/c}^2$$ 1.5GeV/c2 .