Model-Independent Identification of Inelastic WIMPs from Direct Dark Matter Detection Experiments

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce model-independent data analysis procedures for identifying inelastic WIMP-nucleus scattering as well as for reconstructing the mass and the mass splitting of inelastic WIMPs simultaneously and separately. Our simulations show that, with O(50) observed WIMP signals from one experiment, one could already distinguish the inelastic WIMP scattering scenarios from the elastic one. By combining two or more data sets with positive signals, the WIMP mass and the mass splitting could even be reconstructed with statistical uncertainties of less than a factor of two.