Fitting the annual modulation in DAMA with neutrons from muons and neutrinos

Understand

The DAMA/LIBRA experiment searches for evidence of Dark Matter scattering off nuclei.

• Data from DAMA show 9.2 sigma evidence for an annual modulation, consistent with Dark Matter having a cross section around 2x10^(-40) cm^2.
• However this is excluded by other Direct Detection experiments.
• We propose an alternative source of annual modulation in the form of neutrons, which have been liberated from material surrounding the detector by a combination of 8B solar neutrinos and atmospheric muons.