Searches for Light Dark Matter and Evidence of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering of Solar Neutrinos with the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present searches for light dark matter (DM) with masses 3-9 GeV/c^{2} in the presence of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) from ^{8}B solar neutrinos with the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment. This analysis uses a 5.7 tonne-yr exposure with data collected between March 2023 and April 2025. In an energy range spanning 1-6 keV, we report no significant excess of events attributable to dark matter nuclear recoils, but we observe a significant signal from ^{8}B CEνNS interactions that is consistent with expectation. We set world-leading limits on spin-independent and spin-dependent-neutron DM-nucleon interactions for masses down to 5 GeV/c^{2}. In the no-dark-matter scenario, we observe a signal consistent with ^{8}B CEνNS events, corresponding to a 4.5σ statistical significance. This is the most significant evidence of ^{8}B CEνNS interactions and is enabled by robust background modeling and mitigation techniques. This demonstrates LZ's ability to detect rare signals at keV-scale energies.
Source: Physical Review Letters
DOI: 10.1103/jvqf-njpj
Authors: D. S. Akerib, A. K. Al Musalhi, F. Alder, B. J. Almquist, C. S. Amarasinghe, A. Ames, T. J. Anderson, N. Angelides, H. M. Araújo, J. E. Armstrong, M. Arthurs, A. Baker, S. Balashov, J. Bang, J. W. Bargemann, E. E. Barillier, J. Barthel, D. Bauer, K. Beattie, A. Bhatti, T. P. Biesiadzinski, H. J. Birch, E. Bishop, G. M. Blockinger, C. A. J. Brew, P. Brás, S. Burdin, M. C. Carmona-Benitez, M. Carter, A. Chawla, H. Chen, Y. T. Chin, N. I. Chott, S. Contreras, M. V. Converse, R. Coronel, A. Cottle, G. Cox, D. Curran, C. E. Dahl, I. Darlington, S. Dave, A. David, J. Davis, J. Delgaudio, S. Dey, L. de Viveiros, L. Di Felice, C. Ding, J. E. Y. Dobson, E. Druszkiewicz, S. Dubey, C. L. Dunbar, S. R. Eriksen, S. Fayer, N. M. Fearon, N. Fieldhouse, S. Fiorucci, H. Flaecher, E. D. Fraser, T. M. A. Fruth, P. W. Gaemers, R. J. Gaitskell, A. Geffre, J. Genovesi, C. Ghag, J. Ghamsari, A. Ghosh, S. Ghosh, R. Gibbons, S. Gokhale, J. Green, M. G. D. van der Grinten, J. J. Haiston, C. R. Hall, T. Hall, R. N. Hampp, S. J. Haselschwardt, M. A. Hernandez, S. A. Hertel, G. J. Homenides, M. Horn, D. Q. Huang, D. Hunt, E. Jacquet, R. S. James, K. Jenkins, A. C. Kaboth, A. C. Kamaha, M. K. Kannichankandy, D. Khaitan, A. Khazov, J. Kim, Y. D. Kim, D. Kodroff, E. V. Korolkova, H. Kraus, S. Kravitz, L. Kreczko, V. A. Kudryavtsev, C. Lawes, D. S. Leonard, K. T. Lesko, C. Levy, J. Lin, A. Lindote, W. H. Lippincott, J. Long, M. I. Lopes, W. Lorenzon, C. Lu, D. Lucero, S. Luitz, W. Ma, V. Mahajan, P. A. Majewski, A. Manalaysay, R. L. Mannino, R. J. Matheson, C. Maupin, M. E. McCarthy, D. N. McKinsey, J. McLaughlin, J. B. McLaughlin, R. McMonigle, B. Mitra, E. Mizrachi, M. E. Monzani, K. Morå, E. Morrison, B. J. Mount, M. Murdy, A. St. J. Murphy, H. N. Nelson, F. Neves, A. Nguyen, C. L. O’Brien, F. H. O’Shea, I. Olcina, K. C. Oliver-Mallory, J. Orpwood, K. Y. Oyulmaz, K. J. Palladino, N. J. Pannifer, N. Parveen, S. J. Patton, B. Penning, G. Pereira, E. Perry, T. Pershing, A. Piepke, S. S. Poudel, Y. Qie, J. Reichenbacher, C. A. Rhyne, G. R. C. Rischbieter, E. Ritchey, H. S. Riyat, R. Rosero, N. J. Rowe, T. Rushton, D. Rynders, S. Saltão, D. Santone, I. Sargeant, A. B. M. R. Sazzad, R. W. Schnee, G. Sehr, B. Shafer, S. Shaw, W. Sherman, K. Shi, T. Shutt, C. Silva, G. Sinev, J. Siniscalco, A. M. Slivar, R. Smith, V. N. Solovov, P. Sorensen, J. Soria, T. J. Sumner, A. Swain, M. Szydagis, D. J. Taylor, D. R. Tiedt, M. Timalsina, D. R. Tovey, J. Tranter, M. Trask, K. Trengove, M. Tripathi, A. Usón, A. C. Vaitkus, O. Valentino, V. Velan, A. Wang, J. J. Wang, Y. Wang, L. Weeldreyer, T. J. Whitis, K. Wild, M. Williams, J. Winnicki, L. Wolf, F. L. H. Wolfs, S. Woodford, D. Woodward, C. J. Wright, Q. Xia, J. Xu, Y. Xu, M. Yeh, D. Yeum, J. Young, W. Zha, H. Zhang, T. Zhang, Y. Zhou
Institutions: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, University College London, Brown University, University of California System, University of Zurich, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Imperial College London, University of Maryland, College Park, King's College London, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Edinburgh, University at Albany, State University of New York, University of Coimbra, University of Liverpool, Pennsylvania State University, University of London, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, University of Rochester, Northwestern University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Oxford, University of Bristol, The University of Sydney, Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Michigan, University of Alabama, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Melbourne, University of Sheffield, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Vatican Observatory, Black Hills State University, University of California, Davis
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Brown University, South Dakota State University, Brasenose College, University of Oxford, University of South Dakota, UK Research and Innovation, Australian Government, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, Imperial College London, University College London, University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Universität Zürich, Institute for Basic Science, Office of Science, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Australian Research Council, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, High Energy Physics
Awards: G1023538466, G1076230727, G108667033, G1088636562, G1092422733, Receptors and ligands at the cell wall-plasma membrane continuum and their roles in plant immunity, G111736488, G1121314695, SEARCHING FOR DARK MATTER INTERACTIONS WITH THE LZ EXPERIMENT, HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, G1229526393, G1286236842, INTERNAL CALIBRATION OF THE LZ DARK MATTER EXPERIMENT, G1355035755, NEW: PUSHING THE DARK MATTER LIMIT: TRIGGERING LUX: PI-FRANK WOLFS, RESEARCH IN THE ENERGY, COSMIC AND INTENSITY FRONTIERS AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, SANFORD UNDERGROUND RESEARCH FACILITY (SURF) - OPERATIONS, Widening the search for Dark Matter and Physics beyond the Standard Model with direct detection experiments, G180393771, G1863003419, PROPOSAL TO EXPLORE THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE UNIVERSE FUNDING YEARS FY 2018-2020, G1907584174, A RESEARCH PROGRAM IN THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS, RESEARCH IN ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PHYSICS, HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, G214267597, G2145270357, G222768804, G2342592544, G2371548206, G2517729222, DARK MATTER SEARCHES WITH THE LUX-ZEPLIN EXPERIMENT AT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY, STFC Sheffield 2021 DTP, G2852993957, UCSB HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS GROUP PROPOSAL FOR DE-FOA-0000948, G303061748, G3043309968, INCREASING THE DISCOVERY POTENTIAL OF UNDERGROUND PHYSICS AT SURF AND BEYOND, G3083819904, HIGH ENERGY PARTICLE PHYSICS RESEARCH, THE LUX‐ZEPLIN DARK MATTER EXPERIMENT: FROM EXCLUSION TO DISCOVERY POTENTIAL WITH BETTER SIMULATIONS AND VETOS, UCSB HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS GROUP PROPOSAL FOR DE-FOA-0000948, UCL Experimental Particle Physics Consolidated Grant (2022-2025), G3457116902, Experimental Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2022-2025, G357145406, RAL Studentship at Sheffield, BRANDEIS HIGH ENERGY EXPERIMENTAL, G3955724630, Participação da experiência LUX-ZEPLIN: análise dos dados do primeiro período de aquisição e preparação da segunda tomada de dados, G419881185, G42601265, G4273027547, G42916606, STFC Liverpool Physics 2020 DTP, G4304665902, G4354484304, G4383906920, G4404904460, G4457930197, G4501827968, G4519737738, G4654690619, G4675023950, HIGH ENERGY PARTICLE PHYSICS RESEARCH, STFC Liverpool Physics 2022 DTP, G4836177623, G4889845397, G4919363105, G495301720, G498139845, G5016754055, G5021320049, THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS, G5570207115, Bristol Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2022-25, G5616713406, RESEARCH IN THE ENERGY, COSMIC AND INTENSITY FRONTIERS AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, G5700428490, G574795485, G5765906131, G5857623749, G585908603, Experimental Particle Physics at the University of Edinburgh, G616361084, G6289945827, Consolidated Grant for the Centre for Particle Physics at Royal Holloway, University of London, RESEARCH IN HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS, RESEARCH IN ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PHYSICS, NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING NONPROLIFERATION RESEARCH CONSORTIUM, Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2021, G6548473634, G6595054588, G6652958823, G6696489171, G6760775034, Experimental Particle Physics at the University of Edinburgh, G6878392787, STFC Sheffield Physics 2020 DTP, G716412294, G7192090409, STFC Bristol Physics 2022 DTP, G7463374569, G759921648, G7786045000, Particle Physics Consolidated Grant from the University of Sheffield: Energy Frontier, Neutrinos, Dark Matter and R&D, G7894171531, HIGH ENERGY ACCELERATOR AND COLLIDING BEAM USER GROUP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, G8103039852, G8382000481, G8436544914, G86560745, Widening the search for Dark Matter and Physics beyond the Standard Model with direct detection experiments, G872144517, G8726098666, King's Responsive RAs 2023-2025, ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, The study of elementary particles and their interactions (Consolidated Grant 2022 - 2025), G935921991, G969889393, G97770923
OpenAlex ID: W7169029283