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In recent decades, inorganic crystals have been widely used in dark matter direct search experiments. To contribute to the understanding of the capabilities of $CsI(Na)$ and $CaF_{2}(Eu)$ crystals, a mono-energetic neutron beam is utilized…
We present initial results on nuclear recoil detection based on the fluorescence of color centers created by nuclear recoils in lithium fluoride. We use gamma rays, fast and thermal neutrons, and study the difference in responses they…
We identify a number of crystalline structures with promising characteristics to serve as a detection medium for a novel Dark Matter (DM) detector with a low threshold energy. A detector of this kind can be specifically useful in…
There are recent interests with CsI(Tl) scintillating crystals for Dark Matter experiments. The scattering signatures by neutrons on a CsI(Tl) detector were studied using a neutron beam generated by a 13 MV Tandem accelerator. The energy…
Diffractive scattering of "fast" or "high energy" neutrons, can give low energy nuclear recoils in the signal region for dark matter searches. We present a discussion using the 'black disc' model. This permits a simple and general, although…
Detection of low-energy nuclear recoil events plays a central role in searches for particle dark matter interactions with atomic matter and studies of coherent neutrino scatters. Precise nuclear recoil calibration data allow the responses…
The scintillation efficiency (quenching factor) of fluorine and calcium nuclei recoiling in a CaF-2(Eu) crystal was measured in an energy region relevant to dark matter searches. The recoiling nuclei were obtained via the 19-F(n,n') and…
Dark matter (DM) particles with mass in the sub-GeV range are an attractive alternative to heavier weakly-interacting massive particles, but direct detection of such light particles is challenging. If however DM-nucleus scattering leads to…
A new experimental evaluation of the quenching factor for nuclear recoils in NaI[Tl] is described. Systematics affecting previous measurements are addressed by careful characterization of the emission spectrum of the neutron source, use of…
We propose a new low-threshold direct-detection concept for dark matter and for coherent nuclear scattering of solar neutrinos, based on the dissociation of atoms and subsequent creation of color center type defects within a lattice. The…
Direct detection experiments for light dark matter are making enormous leaps in reaching previously unexplored model space. Several recent proposals rely on collective excitations, where the experimental sensitivity is highly dependent on…
The primary observable in dark matter direct detection is the spectrum of scattering events. We simulate multiple positive direct detection signals (on germanium, xenon, and argon targets) to explore the extent to which the underlying…
According to many dark matter models, a potential signal registered in a detector would feature a single-scattering nuclear recoil (NR). So, it is crucial to calibrate the detector's response to NR events. The conventional calibrations…
Germanium is the detector material of choice in many rare-event searches looking for low-energy nuclear recoils induced by dark matter particles or neutrinos. We perform a systematic exploration of its quenching factor for sub-keV nuclear…
Minerals are solid state nuclear track detectors - nuclear recoils in a mineral leave latent damage to the crystal structure. Depending on the mineral and its temperature, the damage features are retained in the material from minutes (in…
The elastic nuclear recoil signal, being under intense scrutiny by multiple underground experiments, can be interpreted either as coming from the interaction of nuclei with WIMP dark matter or from the scattering of new species of…
Crystal damage events such as tracks and point defects have been used to record and detect radiation for a long time and recently they have been proposed as a means for dark matter detection. Color centers can be read out optically and we…
We have directly measured the energy threshold and efficiency for bubble nucleation from iodine recoils in a CF3I bubble chamber in the energy range of interest for a dark matter search. These interactions cannot be probed by standard…
For the development of liquid argon dark matter detectors we assembled a setup in the laboratory to scatter neutrons on a small liquid argon target. The neutrons are produced mono-energetically (E_kin=2.45 MeV) by nuclear fusion in a…
The presence of dark matter has been ascertained through a wealth of astrophysical and cosmological phenomena and its nature is a central puzzle in modern science. Elementary particles stand as the most compelling explanation. They have…