Annual modulations from secular variations: relaxing DAMA? — mentioned by knzhou

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 06:25:37 GMT

There's a possibility that a discontinuity in data analysis might have an impact on fundamental physics. Many dark matter detection experiments rely on detecting an annual modulation, i.e. an excess of detection events later in the year, when the Earth would be going into the 'dark matter wind'. This helps one distinguish the desired signal from backgrounds that don't change throughout the year, like cosmic rays or ambient radioactivity. One particular experiment has been claiming a positive detection for two decades, leading to a lot of confusion in the field. It was recently argued [0] that…

Paper and discussion history. A mention is not an endorsement.

Annual modulations from secular variations: relaxing DAMA? · HackerPapers discussions

Annual modulations from secular variations: relaxing DAMA? — mentioned by knzhou