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Novel constraints on spin-dependent light dark matter scattering

Alex Clarke1 and Maxim Pospelov1,2

  • 1School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
  • 2William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 055002 – Published 2 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9ykw-gf17

Abstract

We explore the sensitivity of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) experiment to light dark matter particles χ with spin-dependent interactions with nucleons. We show that the pair-production of MeV scale dark matter is possible in heavy water (CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium)) reactors via D(n,χχ¯)He3, and calculate the expected rate within the simplest models of χ-nucleon interactions. Owing to a sizable Q-value for this reaction, a large fraction of dark matter (DM) particles produced this way are above the threshold for deuteron disintegration, D(χ,χ)np, which adds to the SNO neutral current signal. Evaluating the CANDU-to-SNO scheme for the production and detection of DM, we derive novel constraints for the χ-nucleon spin-dependent cross sections, showing that cross sections above σχp∼10−33  cm2 are generally excluded if mχ≤1.5  MeV. An isospin-mirror reaction will occur in the Sun, and for the kinematically allowed region it excludes a portion of parameter space with cross sections on the order 10−37  cm2. We also evaluate the potential sensitivity of small “near” detectors placed in close proximity to a CANDU reactor to search for a coherent nuclear recoil, finding subdominant sensitivity.

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Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, 055002– Published 2 September, 2026
  • Received 10 April 2026
  • Accepted 18 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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