Search for Cosmic-Ray Boosted Sub-MeV Dark-Matter-Electron Scattering in PandaX-4T.

We report the first search for the elastic scatterings between cosmic-ray boosted sub-MeV dark matter (DM) and electrons in the PandaX-4T liquid xenon experiment. Sub-MeV DM particles can be accelerated by scattering with electrons in the cosmic rays and produce detectable electron recoil signals in the detector. Using the commissioning data from PandaX-4T of 0.63 tonne·year exposure, we set new constraints on DM-electron scattering cross sections for DM masses ranging from 10 eV/c^{2} to 3 keV/c^{2}.

Searching for Two-Neutrino and Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of

^{134}Xe is a candidate isotope for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νßß) search. In addition, the two-neutrino case (2νßß) allowed by the standard model of particle physics has not yet been observed. With the 656-kg natural xenon in the fiducial volume of the PandaX-4T detector, which contains 10.4% of ^{134}Xe, and its initial 94.9-day exposure, we have established the most stringent constraints on 2νßß and 0νßß of ^{134}Xe half-lives, with limits of 2.8×10^{22} yr and 3.0×10^{23} yr at 90% confidence level, respectively. The 2νßß (0νßß) limit surpasses the previously reported best result by a factor of 32 (2.7), highlighting the potential of large monolithic natural xenon detectors for double beta decay searches.

Search for Dark-Matter-Nucleon Interactions with a Dark Mediator in PandaX-4T.

We report results of a search for dark-matter-nucleon interactions via a dark mediator using optimized low-energy data from the PandaX-4T liquid xenon experiment. With the ionization-signal-only data and utilizing the Migdal effect, we set the most stringent limits on the cross section for dark matter masses ranging from 30 MeV/c^{2} to 2 GeV/c^{2}. Under the assumption that the dark mediator is a dark photon that decays into scalar dark matter pairs in the early Universe, we rule out significant parameter space of such thermal relic dark-matter model.

Search for Light Dark Matter from the Atmosphere in PandaX-4T.

We report a search for light dark matter produced through the cascading decay of η mesons, which are created as a result of inelastic collisions between cosmic rays and Earth's atmosphere. We introduce a new and general framework, publicly accessible, designed to address boosted dark matter specifically, with which a full and dedicated simulation including both elastic and quasielastic processes of Earth attenuation effect on the dark matter particles arriving at the detector is performed. In the PandaX-4T commissioning data of 0.63 tonne·year exposure, no significant excess over background is observed. The first constraints on the interaction between light dark matter generated in the atmosphere and nucleus through a light scalar mediator are obtained. The lowest excluded cross section is set at 5.9×10^{-37} cm^{2} for a dark matter mass of 0.1 MeV/c^{2} and mediator mass of 300 MeV/c^{2}. The lowest upper limit of η to the dark matter decay branching ratio is 1.6×10^{-7}.

Search for Light Dark Matter with Ionization Signals in the PandaX-4T Experiment.

We report the search results of light dark matter through its interactions with shell electrons and nuclei, using the commissioning data from the PandaX-4T liquid xenon detector. Low energy events are selected to have an ionization-only signal between 60 to 200 photoelectrons, corresponding to a mean nuclear recoil energy from 0.77 to 2.54 keV and electronic recoil energy from 0.07 to 0.23 keV. With an effective exposure of 0.55 tonne·year, we set the most stringent limits within a mass range from 40 MeV/c^{2} to 10 GeV/c^{2} for pointlike dark matter-electron interaction, 100 MeV/c^{2} to 10 GeV/c^{2} for dark matter-electron interaction via a light mediator, and 3.2 to 4 GeV/c^{2} for dark matter-nucleon spin-independent interaction. For DM interaction with electrons, our limits are closing in on the parameter space predicted by the freeze-in and freeze-out mechanisms in the early Universe.

Search for Solar

A search for interactions from solar ^{8}B neutrinos elastically scattering off xenon nuclei using PandaX-4T commissioning data is reported. The energy threshold of this search is further lowered compared with the previous search for dark matter, with various techniques utilized to suppress the background that emerges from data with the lowered threshold. A blind analysis is performed on the data with an effective exposure of 0.48 tonne year, and no significant excess of events is observed. Among the results obtained using the neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering, our results give the best constraint on the solar ^{8}B neutrino flux. We further provide a more stringent limit on the cross section between dark matter and nucleon in the mass range from 3 to 9 GeV/c^{2}.

First Search for the Absorption of Fermionic Dark Matter with the PandaX-4T Experiment.

Compared with the signature of dark matter elastic scattering off nuclei, the absorption of fermionic dark matter by nuclei opens up a new searching channel for light dark matter with a characteristic monoenergetic signal. In this Letter, we explore the 95.0-day data from the PandaX-4T commissioning run and report the first dedicated searching results of the fermionic dark matter absorption signal through a neutral current process. No significant signal was found, and the lowest limit on the dark matter-nucleon interaction cross section is set to be 1.5×10^{-50} cm^{2} for a fermionic dark matter mass of 40 MeV/c^{2} with 90% confidence level.

Search for Light Fermionic Dark Matter Absorption on Electrons in PandaX-4T.

We report a search on sub-MeV fermionic dark matter absorbed by electrons with an outgoing active neutrino using the 0.63 tonne year exposure collected by the PandaX-4T liquid xenon experiment. No significant signals are observed over the expected background. The data are interpreted into limits to the effective couplings between such dark matter and the electron. For axial-vector or vector interactions, our sensitivity is competitive in comparison to existing astrophysical bounds on the decay of such a dark matter candidate into photon final states. In particular, we present the first direct detection limits for a vector (axial-vector) interaction which are the strongest in the mass range from 35 to 55 (25 to 45) keV/c^{2} in comparison to other astrophysical and cosmological constraints.

Determination of Double Beta Decay Half-Life of 136Xe with the PandaX-4T Natural Xenon Detector.

Precise measurement of two-neutrino double beta decay (DBD) half-life is an important step for the searches of Majorana neutrinos with neutrinoless double beta decay. We report the measurement of DBD half-life of 136Xe using the PandaX-4T dual-phase Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with 3.7-tonne natural xenon and the first 94.9-day physics data release. The background model in the fiducial volume is well constrained in situ by events in the outer active region. With a 136Xe exposure of 15.5 kg-year, we establish the half-life as 2.27 ± 0.03(stat.) ± 0.10(syst.) × 1021 years. This is the first DBD half-life measurement with natural xenon and demonstrates the physics capability of a large-scale liquid xenon TPC in the field of rare event searches.