Limits on inelastic dark matter from ZEPLIN-III

D. Yu. Akimov , H. M. Araujo , E. J. Barnes , V. A. Belov , A. Bewick , A. A. Burenkov , R. Cashmore , V. Chepel , A. Currie , D. Davidge , J.V. Dawson (1) , T. Durkin , B. Edwards , C. Ghag , A. Hollingsworth , M. Horn , A. S. Howard , A. J. Hughes , W. G. Jones , G. E. Kalmus , A. S. Kobyakin , A. G. Kovalenko , V. N. Lebedenko , A. Lindote , I. Liubarsky , M. I. Lopes , R. Luscher , K. Lyons , P. Majewski , A. Stj. Murphy , F. Neves , S. M. Paling , J. Pinto da Cunha , R. Preece , J. J. Quenby , L. Reichhart , P. R. Scovell , C. Silva , V. N. Solovov , N. J. T. Smith , P. F. Smith , V. N. Stekhanov , T. J. Sumner , C. Thorne , L. de Viveiros , R. J. Walker

1 APC - Neutrinos

We present limits on the WIMP-nucleon cross section for inelastic dark matter derived from the 2008 run of ZEPLIN-III. Cuts, notably on scintillation pulse shape and scintillation-to-ionisation ratio, give a net exposure of 63 kg.days in the range 20-80keV nuclear recoil energy, in which 6 events are observed. Upper limits on signal rate are derived from the maximum empty patch in the data. Under standard halo assumptions a small region of parameter space consistent, at 99% CL, with causing the 1.17 ton.year DAMA modulation signal is allowed at 90% CL: it is in the mass range 45-60 GeV with a minimum CL of 88%, again derived from the maximum patch. This is the tightest constraint on that explanation of the DAMA result yet presented using a xenon target.

Domaines: Physique des Hautes Energies - Expérience [hep-ex]

D. Yu. Akimov, H. M. Araujo, E. J. Barnes, V. A. Belov, A. Bewick, et al.. Limits on inelastic dark matter from ZEPLIN-III. Physics Letters B, 2010, 692, pp.180-183. ⟨10.1016/j.physletb.2010.07.042⟩. ⟨in2p3-00703940⟩