Solar Neutrino Constraints on Inelastic Dark Matter Scattering in Light of Recent LUX-ZEPLIN Observations
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Collaboration recently reported the detection of a single nuclear recoil candidate event with a very high recoil energy. The lack of any corresponding low-energy events motivates models in which dark matter scattering with nuclei has a nontrivial momentum dependence or proceeds inelastically, suppressing the rate of low-energy recoils. In this study, we consider the constraints on inelastic dark matter, including scenarios favored by the LZ event, from the absence of an excess of high-energy neutrinos from the Sun in IceCube observations. We confirm the results of Pospelov & Ramani and show, more generally, that the lack of an excess of high-energy neutrinos from the Sun strongly constrains the parameter space in this class of models.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Nguyen, Thong T. Q., Linden, Tim, Hooper, Dan
Institutions: Stockholm University, AlbaNova, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7212320460