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  • Open Access

Spin-dependent scattering of sub-GeV dark matter: Models and constraints

Stefania Gori1,*, Simon Knapen2,3,†, Tongyan Lin4,‡, Pankaj Munbodh1,§, and Bethany Suter2,3,∥

  • *Contact author: sgori@ucsc.edu
  • †Contact author: smknapen@lbl.gov
  • ‡Contact author: tongyan@physics.ucsd.edu
  • §Contact author: pmunbodh@ucsc.edu
  • ∥Contact author: bethany_suter@berkeley.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 075019 – Published 10 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1r9r-n4sv

Abstract

We calculate the scattering rate of sub-GeV dark matter in solid-state targets for spin-dependent dark matter–nucleon interactions. For dark matter particles with mass below 100 MeV, the scattering occurs predominantly through incoherent phonon production. For dark matter heavier than 100 MeV, we match onto the nuclear recoil calculation. To compare the sensitivity of future direct detection experiments with existing constraints, we consider three models with interactions that are mediated by spin-0 or spin-1 particles. This allows us to derive bounds on the cross section from searches for the mediating particle, including bounds from stellar cooling, beam dump experiments, meson factories, and dark matter self-interactions. The existing bounds are very stringent, though for mχ≳100  MeV there is parameter space, which may be accessible with direct detection, depending on the exposure and background rates.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 075019– Published 10 October, 2025
  • Received 28 June 2025
  • Accepted 15 September 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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