Search for Dark-Matter–Nucleon Interactions via Migdal Effect with DarkSide-50

Dark matter elastic scattering off nuclei can result in the excitation and ionization of the recoiling atom through the so-called Migdal effect. The energy deposition from the ionization electron adds to the energy deposited by the recoiling nuclear system and allows for the detection of interactions of sub-GeV=c2 mass dark matter. We present new constraints for sub-GeV=c2 dark matter using the dual-phase liquid argon time projection chamber of the DarkSide-50 experiment with an exposure of ð12 306  184Þ kg d. The analysis is based on the ionization signal alone and significantly enhances the sensitivity of DarkSide-50, enabling sensitivity to dark matter with masses down to 40 MeV=c2. Furthermore, it sets the most stringent upper limit on the spin independent dark matter nucleon cross section for masses below 3.6 GeV=c2.