https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-018-6047-y
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Uncertainties in WIMP dark matter scattering revisited
1
Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group, Department of Physics, King’s College London, London, WC2R 2LS, UK
2
Theoretical Physics Department, CERN, 1211, Geneva 23, Switzerland
3
National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Rävala 10, 10143, Tallinn, Estonia
4
Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
5
William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
* e-mail: olive@physics.umn.edu
Received:
1
June
2018
Accepted:
2
July
2018
Published online:
11
July
2018
We revisit the uncertainties in the calculation of spin-independent scattering matrix elements for the scattering of WIMP dark matter particles on nuclear matter. In addition to discussing the uncertainties due to limitations in our knowledge of the nucleonic matrix elements of the light quark scalar densities 
, we also discuss the importances of heavy quark scalar densities 
, and comment on uncertainties in quark mass ratios. We analyze estimates of the light-quark densities made over the past decade using lattice calculations and/or phenomenological inputs. We find an uncertainty in the combination 
that is larger than has been assumed in some phenomenological analyses, and a range of 
that is smaller but compatible with earlier estimates. We also analyze the importance of the 
calculations of the heavy-quark matrix elements that are now available, which provide an important refinement of the calculation of the spin-independent scattering cross section. We use for illustration a benchmark CMSSM point in the focus-point region that is compatible with the limits from LHC and other searches.
© The Author(s), 2018
