Nelson Carlin, Jae Young Cho, Jae Jin Choi, Seonho Choi, Anthony C. Ezeribe, Luis Eduardo França, Chang Hyon Ha, In Sik Hahn, Sophia J. Hollick, Eunju Jeon, Han Wool Joo, Woon Gu Kang, Matthew Kauer, Bongho Kim, Hongjoo Kim, Jinyoung Kim, Kyungwon Kim, SungHyun Kim, Sun Kee Kim, Won Kyung Kim, Yeongduk Kim, Yong-Hamb Kim, Young Ju Ko, Doohyeok Lee, Eun Kyung Lee, Hyunseok Lee, Hyun Su Lee, Hye Young Lee, In Soo Lee, Jaison Lee, Jooyoung Lee, Moo Hyun Lee, Seo Hyun Lee, Seung Mok Lee, Yujin Lee, Douglas S. Leonard, Nguyen Thanh Luan, Vitor Hugo de Almeida Machado, Bruno B. Manzato, Reina H. Maruyama, Robert J. Neal, Stephen L. Olsen, Byung Ju Park, Hyang Kyu Park, Hyeonseo Park, Jong-Chul Park, Kangsoon Park, Se Dong Park, Ricardo L.C. Pitta, Hafizh Prihtiadi, Sejin Ra, Carsten Rott, Keon Ah Shin, David F.F.S. Cavalcante, Min Ki Son, Neil J.C. Spooner, Lam Tan Truc, Liang Yang, Gyun Ho Yu
For over 25 years, the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration has claimed to observe an annual modulation signal, suggesting the existence of dark matter interactions. However, no experiment using different target materials has observed a dark matter signal consistent with their result. To address this puzzle, the COSINE-100 collaboration conducted a model-independent test using sodium iodide crystal detectors, the same target material as DAMA/LIBRA. Analyzing data collected over 6.4 years by the effective mass of 61.3 kilograms, with improved energy calibration and time-dependent background modeling, we found no evidence of an annual modulation signal, challenging the DAMA/LIBRA result with a confidence level greater than 3σ. This finding represents a substantial step toward resolving the long-standing debate surrounding DAMA/LIBRA’s dark matter claim, indicating that the observed modulation is unlikely to be caused by dark matter interactions. Copyright © 2025 the Authors, some rights reserved;
Physics institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil; Center for Underground Physics, institute for Basic Science (iBS), Daejeon, 34126, South Korea; department of Physics, Kyungpook national University, Daegu, 41566, South Korea; department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul national University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea; department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S3 7Rh, United Kingdom; department of Physics, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06973, South Korea; Center for exotic nuclear Studies, institute for Basic Science (iBS), Daejeon, 34126, South Korea; department of Science education, ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, South Korea; iBS School, University of Science and technology (USt), Daejeon, 34113, South Korea; department of Physics and Wright laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, 06520, CT, United States; department of Physics, Wisconsin iceCube Particle Astrophysics Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53706, Wi, United States; department of Physics, Jeju national University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea; department of Accelerator Science, Korea University, Sejong, 30019, South Korea; Korea Research institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon, 34113, South Korea; department of Physics and iQS, Chungnam national University, Daejeon, 34134, South Korea; department of Physics, Universitas negeri Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, South Korea; department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 84112, Ut, United States; department of Physics, University of California, la Jolla, San Diego, 92093, CA, United States
