Search for a Diurnal Modulation of Inelastically Scattered Dark Matter

Dark matter, some of the most elusive and theoretically postulated particles in our universe, may be key to understanding gravity, the particle content of the Universe, and how galaxies form and evolve. Certain theories postulate that dark matter particles can be excited through inelastic scattering with nuclei, and then be detected through a de-excitation gamma ray [Phys.Rev.D89, 055008 (2014)]. This research project exploits the unique geometry and extreme sensitivity of the existing CUORE Detector located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy to search for a diurnal modulation of inelastically scattered dark matter "wind" as an effect of the Earth's rotation. If observed, it would essentially be a "smoking gun" of evidence for dark matter, which would have profound implications for cosmology and our understanding of physics. We will report on the sensitivity of such a search, tools developed to observe the effect, and constraints on diurnal modulations of detector efficiencies.