Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering in multi-ton scale dark matter experiments: classification of vector and scalar interactions new physics signals

Abstract

We classify new physics signals in coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) processes induced by 8 B solar neutrinos in multi-ton xenon dark matter (DM) detectors. Our analysis focuses on vector and scalar interactions in the effective and light mediator limits after considering the constraints emerging from the recent COHERENT data and neutrino masses. In both cases we identify a region where measurements of the event spectrum alone suffice to establish whether the new physics signal is related with vector or scalar couplings. We identify as well a region where measurements of the recoil spectrum are required so to establish the nature of the new interaction, and categorize the spectral features that enable distinguishing the vector from the scalar case. We demonstrate that measurements of the isospin nature of the new interaction and thereby removal of isospin related degeneracies are possible by combining independent measurements from two different detectors. We also comment on the status of searches for vector and scalar interactions for on-going multi-ton year xenon experiments.

Implications of the first detection of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) with liquid Argon

“…Turning to the case of a scalar boson mediating the CEvNS process, there is no interference and, then, the total cross section is given by (dσ/dT A ) tot = (dσ/dT A ) SM + (dσ/dT A ) scalar , where the scalar contribution to the cross section is expressed as 12) and the scalar charge is defined as [34]…”

“…The discovery of coherent elastic scattering of neutrinos off nuclei at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) using a CsI detector [2] has opened new ways to study key weak interaction parameters, such as the electroweak mixing angle [3,4] and the nuclear form factors [5][6][7], as well as to probe novel neutrino properties beyond the Standard Model (SM) [8]. Among the most interesting possibilities, are those addressing non-standard interactions (NSI) [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], electromagnetic neutrino properties [20][21][22][23][24], sterile neutrinos [25][26][27][28], new light mediators [29][30][31][32][33][34][35] and dark matter [36,37]. The study of these scenarios would provide important hints for physics beyond the current three-massive-neutrino paradigm of elementary particles.…”

Non-standard neutrino interactions in U(1)′ model after COHERENT data

“…Recently, it has been addressed in refs. [14,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67] that light mediators may be accessible to CEνNS experiments. Considering a new gauge boson Z associated with new U(1) symmetry from CEνNS have been studied in [14-16, 46, 68-70].…”

Recent Probes of Standard and Non-standard Neutrino Physics With Nuclei

“…A thorough classification of the new physics signatures with respect to vector and scalar interactions is given in Ref. [132] providing also key information on the possibility of breaking isospin-related degeneracies from combined measurements with different detector material.…”