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  • Open Access

Electronic direct detection of light dark matter with intermediate-mass mediators

Connor Stratman* and Tanner Trickle†

  • *Contact author: connor35@illinois.edu
  • †Contact author: ttrickle@illinois.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 035039 – Published 25 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/v2r4-53pm

Abstract

Recent years have seen dramatic improvements in the sensitivity of electron-based direct detection experiments. Typically, the sensitivity to dark matter scattering is determined in the light and heavy mediator mass limits. In this paper we show that the light and heavy mediator mass limits are not separated by a single scale, but instead can be separated by up to 3 orders of magnitude in mediator mass for sub-GeV mass dark matter. We calculate the background-free sensitivity in Si and Ge targets, and a projected DAMIC-M sensitivity, to sub-GeV mass dark matter models with “intermediate-mass” mediators between the light and heavy mediator limits. This allows us to determine the precise range of mediator masses that electron-based direct detection experiments are sensitive to when the dark matter relic abundance is generated via freeze-in. We make the calculations presented here publicly available in an updated release of EXCEED-DM.

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Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, 035039– Published 25 August, 2026
  • Received 27 May 2026
  • Accepted 3 August 2026
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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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