Limits on interactions between weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons obtained with NaI(Tl) crystal detectors

• Main Authors: The KIMS collaboration, K. W. Kim, G. Adhikari, P. Adhikari, S. Choi, C. Ha, I. S. Hahn, E. J. Jeon, H. W. Joo, W. G. Kang, H. J. Kim, N. Y. Kim, S. K. Kim, Y. D. Kim, Y. H. Kim, Y. J. Ko, H. S. Lee, J. S. Lee, J. Y. Lee, M. H. Lee, D. S. Leonard, S. L. Olsen, B. J. Park, H. K. Park, H. S. Park, K. S. Park
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2019-03-01
• Series: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Subjects: Dark matter; Dark Matter and Double Beta Decay (experiments)
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/JHEP03(2019)194
• ISSN: 1029-8479

Abstract Limits on the cross section for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) elastic scattering on nuclei in NaI(Tl) detectors at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory are obtained from a 2967.4 kg·day data exposure. The nuclei recoiling from the scattering process are identified by the pulse shape of the scintillation light signals that they produce. The data are consistent with a no nuclear-recoil hypothesis, and WIMP-mass-dependent 90% confidence-level upper-limits are set on WIMP-nuclei elastic scattering cross sections. These limits partially exclude the DAMA/LIBRA allowed region for WIMP-sodium interactions with the same NaI(Tl) target material. The 90% confidence level upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section is 3.26×10−4 pb for a WIMP mass of 10 GeV/c2.