ANAIS is a direct detection dark matter experiment aiming at the testing of the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation result , which standing for about two decades has neither been confirmed nor ruled out by any other experiment in a model independent way . ANAIS { \hbox { - } } 112 , consisting of 112.5 kg of sodium iodide crystals , is taking data at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory , Spain , since August 2017 .
This letter presents the annual modulation analysis of 1.5 years of data , amounting to 157.55 kg \times y .
We focus on the model independent analysis searching for modulation and the validation of our sensitivity prospects . ANAIS { \hbox { - } } 112 data are consistent with the null hypothesis ( p-values of 0.65 and 0.16 for [ 2 { \hbox { - } } 6 ] and [ 1 { \hbox { - } } 6 ] keV energy regions , respectively ) .
The best fits for the modulation hypothesis are consistent with the absence of modulation ( S _ { m } = -0.0044 \pm 0.0058 cpd/kg/keV and -0.0015 \pm 0.0063 cpd/kg/keV , respectively ) .
They are in agreement with our estimated sensitivity for the accumulated exposure , supporting our projected goal of reaching a 3 \sigma sensitivity to the DAMA/LIBRA result in 5 years of data taking .