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Abstract

Chiral effective field theory allows one to calculate the response of
few-nucleon systems to external currents, both for currents that can be probed
in the Standard Model and ones that only exist in Standard-Model extensions. In
combination with state-of-the-art many-body methods, the constraints from
chiral symmetry can then be implemented in nuclear structure factors that
describe the response of atomic nuclei in direct-detection searches for dark
matter. We review the present status of this approach, including the role of
coherently enhanced two-body currents, the discrimination of dark matter
candidates based on the nuclear response functions, and limits on Higgs-portal
dark matter.