Probing the coupling of heavy dark matter to nucleons by detecting neutrino signature from the Earth core

Abstract

We argue that the detection of neutrino signature from the Earth core is an ideal approach for probing the coupling of heavy dark matter ($m_{\chi}>10^{4}$ GeV) to nucleons. We first note that direct searches for dark matter (DM) in such a mass range do not provide stringent constraints. Furthermore the energies of neutrinos arising from DM annihilations inside the Sun cannot exceed a few TeV at the Sun surface due to the attenuation effect. Therefore the sensitivity to the heavy DM coupling is lost. Finally, the detection of neutrino signature from galactic halo can only probe DM annihilation cross sections. After presenting the rationale of our studies, we discuss the event rates in IceCube and KM3NeT arising from the neutrino flux produced by annihilations of Earth-captured DM heavier than $10^{4}$ GeV. The IceCube and KM3NeT sensitivities to spin independent DM-proton scattering cross section $\sigma_{\chi p}$ and isospin violation effect in this mass range are presented. The implications of our results are also discussed.