Work

Measuring the molecular Migdal effect with neutron scattering on diatomic gases

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The Migdal effect is a key inelastic signal channel which could be used to detect low-mass dark matter, but it has never been observed experimentally using Standard Model probes. Here we propose a conceptual design for an experiment which could detect the Migdal effect in diatomic molecules through low-energy neutron scattering, and we provide the requirements on the beam spectrum and reducible backgrounds such that a detection may be achieved. The enhancement of the Migdal rate through non-adiabatic couplings, which are absent in isolated atoms, combined with the distinctive photon energies of electronic transitions in CO, suggest that a positive detection of the molecular Migdal effect may be possible with modest beam times at existing neutron facilities. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Source: Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.110.092012

Authors: Yonatan Kahn, Jesús Pérez-Ríos

Institutions: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stony Brook University

Language: English

Topic: Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: U.S. Department of Energy, Simons Foundation

Award: THEORETICAL RESEARCH ON ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PHYSICS