Daily Modulation Constraints on Light Dark Matter with DAMIC-M
Abstract
The flux of Hidden Sector particles from the Galactic halo reaching an underground detector can be significantly attenuated by interactions within the Earth for sufficiently large scattering crosssections. This attenuation gives rise to a characteristic daily modulation in the detection rate, due to Earth's rotation. We present results from a search for such a modulation using a 1.257 kg-day dataset collected with the DAMIC-M Low Background Chamber. A model-independent analysis reveals no significant modulation in the 1e- event rate over periods from 1 to 48 h, highlighting the excellent temporal stability of the detector. In a complementary model-dependent analysis, we target the expected daily modulation signature of Hidden Sector particles, with masses in the range [0.53,2] MeV/c2, interacting with electrons via a dark photon mediator. By leveraging the expected temporal evolution of the signal, we set improved constraints on Dark Matter masses below 1.2 MeV/c2, surpassing our previous limits.
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BibTeX
@article{aggarwal2026daily,
title = {{Daily Modulation Constraints on Light Dark Matter with DAMIC-M}},
author = {K Aggarwal and I Arnquist and N Avalos and X Bertou and N Castelló-Mor and C Centeno-Lorca and A.E Chavarria and J Cuevas-Zepeda and A Dastgheibi-Fard and C de Dominicis and O Deligny and J Duarte-Campderros and E Estrada and R Gaior and E.-L Gkougkousis and T Hossbach and L Iddir and B.J Kavanagh and B Kilminster and I Lawson and A Letessier-Selvon and H Lin and P Loaiza and A Lopez-Virto and R Lou and H Lumengo-Kidimbu and K.J Mcguire and S Munagavalasa and J Noonan and D Norcini and S Paul and P Privitera and P Robmann and B Roach and D Rosenmerkel and M Settimo and R Smida and M Traina and R Vilar and R Yajur and D Venegas-Vargas and C Zhu and Y Zhu},
journal = {Physical Review D},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1103/c9fm-ymf2},
eprint = {2511.13962},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05393764v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Daily Modulation Constraints on Light Dark Matter with DAMIC-M
AU - K Aggarwal
AU - I Arnquist
AU - N Avalos
AU - X Bertou
AU - N Castelló-Mor
AU - C Centeno-Lorca
AU - A.E Chavarria
AU - J Cuevas-Zepeda
AU - A Dastgheibi-Fard
AU - C de Dominicis
AU - O Deligny
AU - J Duarte-Campderros
AU - E Estrada
AU - R Gaior
AU - E.-L Gkougkousis
AU - T Hossbach
AU - L Iddir
AU - B.J Kavanagh
AU - B Kilminster
AU - I Lawson
AU - A Letessier-Selvon
AU - H Lin
AU - P Loaiza
AU - A Lopez-Virto
AU - R Lou
AU - H Lumengo-Kidimbu
AU - K.J Mcguire
AU - S Munagavalasa
AU - J Noonan
AU - D Norcini
AU - S Paul
AU - P Privitera
AU - P Robmann
AU - B Roach
AU - D Rosenmerkel
AU - M Settimo
AU - R Smida
AU - M Traina
AU - R Vilar
AU - R Yajur
AU - D Venegas-Vargas
AU - C Zhu
AU - Y Zhu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Physical Review D
DO - 10.1103/c9fm-ymf2
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05393764v1
AB - The flux of Hidden Sector particles from the Galactic halo reaching an underground detector can be significantly attenuated by interactions within the Earth for sufficiently large scattering crosssections. This attenuation gives rise to a characteristic daily modulation in the detection rate, due to Earth's rotation. We present results from a search for such a modulation using a 1.257 kg-day dataset collected with the DAMIC-M Low Background Chamber. A model-independent analysis reveals no significant modulation in the 1e- event rate over periods from 1 to 48 h, highlighting the excellent temporal stability of the detector. In a complementary model-dependent analysis, we target the expected daily modulation signature of Hidden Sector particles, with masses in the range [0.53,2] MeV/c2, interacting with electrons via a dark photon mediator. By leveraging the expected temporal evolution of the signal, we set improved constraints on Dark Matter masses below 1.2 MeV/c2, surpassing our previous limits.
SN - 2470-0010
SN - 2470-0029
ER -