Diurnal modulation due to self-interacting mirror and hidden sector dark matter

Abstract

Mirror and more generic hidden sector dark matter models can simultaneously explain the DAMA, CoGeNT and CRESST dark matter signals consistently with the null results of the other experiments. This type of dark matter can be captured by the Earth and shield detectors because it is self-interacting. This effect will lead to a diurnal modulation in dark matter detectors. We estimate the size of this effect for dark matter detectors in various locations. Although this effect is anticipated to be small for detectors located in the northern hemisphere, it can be very large for detectors located in the southern hemisphere. In particular, if the CoGeNT detector were moved to Sierra Grande, Argentina then a $5 \sigma$ dark matter discovery would be possible in around 30 days of operation.