Search for WIMP Inelastic Scattering off Xenon Nuclei with XENON100

• Published in: arXiv.org 2017-05
• Main Authors: Aprile, E, Aalbers, J, Agostini, F, Alfonsi, M, Amaro, F D, Anthony, M, Arneodo, F, Barrow, P, Baudis, L, Bauermeister, B, Benabderrahmane, M L, Berger, T, Breur, P A, Brown, A, Brown, E, Bruenner, S, Bruno, G, Budnik, R, Bütikofer, L, Cichon, D, Coderre, D, Colijn, A P, Conrad, J, Cussonneau, J P, de Perio, P, A Di Giovanni, Eurin, G, Fei, J, Ferella, A D, Fieguth, A, Fulgione, W, A Gallo Rosso, Galloway, M, Gao, F, Garbini, M, Goetzke, L W, Grignon, C, Hasterok, C, Hogenbirk, E, Itay, R, Kaminsky, B, Kazama, S, Kessler, G, Landsman, H, Lellouch, D, Levinson, L, Lin, Q, Lindemann, S, Lindner, M, Lombardi, F, Lopes, J A M, Manfredini, A, Maris, I, Masbou, J, Massoli, F V, Masson, D, Mayani, D, Messina, M, Micheneau, K, Molinario, A, Mora, K, Murra, M, Naganoma, J, K Ni, Oberlack, U, Pakarha, P, Pelssers, B, Persiani, R, Piastra, F, Pienaar, J, Pizzella, V, M -C Piro, Plante, G, Priel, N, Rauch, L, Reichard, S, Reuter, C, Rizzo, A, Rosendahl, S, Sartorelli, G, Scheibelhut, M, Schindler, S, Schreiner, J, Schumann, M, L Scotto Lavina, Selvi, M, Shagin, P, Silva, M, Simgen, H, Stein, A, Tiseni, A, Tunnell, C, Vargas, M, Wang, H, Wang, Z, Wei, Y, Weinheimer, C, Wulf, J, J Ye, Zhang, Y
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Inelastic scattering; Nucleons; Radiation counters; Recoil; Scattering cross sections; Weakly interacting massive particles; Xenon
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1705.05830

We present the first constraints on the spin-dependent, inelastic scattering cross section of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) on nucleons from XENON100 data with an exposure of 7.64\(\times\)10\(^3\)\,kg\,day. XENON100 is a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber with 62\,kg of active mass, operated at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy and designed to search for nuclear recoils from WIMP-nucleus interactions. Here we explore inelastic scattering, where a transition to a low-lying excited nuclear state of \(^{129}\)Xe is induced. The experimental signature is a nuclear recoil observed together with the prompt de-excitation photon. We see no evidence for such inelastic WIMP-\(^{129}\)Xe interactions. A profile likelihood analysis allows us to set a 90\% C.L. upper limit on the inelastic, spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon cross section of \(3.3 \times 10^{-38}\)\,cm\(^{2}\) at 100\,GeV/c\(^2\). This is the most constraining result to date, and sets the pathway for an analysis of this interaction channel in upcoming, larger dual-phase xenon detectors.