Related papers: Ionization yield measurement in a germanium CDMSli…
We have measured the ionization efficiency of silicon nuclear recoils with kinetic energy between 1.8 and 20 keV. We bombarded a silicon-drift diode with a neutron beam to perform an elastic-scattering experiment. A broad-energy neutron…
In the recent years, argon-based experiments looking for Dark Matter in the Universe have explored the non-standard scenario in which Dark Matter is made by low-mass Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, of mass in the range of 1-10 GeV…
We report an absolute energy response function to electronic and nuclear recoils for germanium and liquid xenon detectors. As a result, we show that the detection energy threshold of nuclear recoils for a dual-phase xenon detector can be a…
The ReD experiment measured the ionization yield Qy of argon for nuclear recoils in the 2-10 keV range using a dual-phase Time Projection Chamber irradiated with neutrons from a Cf-252 fission source. The measurement extends coverage below…
We measured the nuclear--recoil ionization yield in silicon with a cryogenic phonon-sensitive gram-scale detector. Neutrons from a mono-energetic beam scatter off of the silicon nuclei at angles corresponding to energy depositions from…
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…
Direct searches for dark matter in the form of WIMPs with argon-based detectors require precise measurements of the ionization yield \Qy\ for nuclear recoils at low energies. Prior to this work, direct experimental data were available only…
We have performed measurements of scintillation light in liquid neon, observing a signal yield in our detector as high as (3.5 $\pm$ 0.4) photoelectrons/keV. We measure pulse shape discrimination efficiency between electronic and nuclear…
We have measured the scintillation and ionization yield of recoiling nuclei in liquid argon as a function of applied electric field by exposing a dual-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LAr-TPC) to a low energy pulsed narrow band…
We present the results of the first experimental study of ionization yield of electron recoils with energies below 100 keV produced in liquid xenon by the isotopes: 37Ar, 83mKr, 241Am, 129Xe, 131Xe. It is confirmed by a direct measurement…
Direction-sensitive direct dark matter search experiments have been conducted using gaseous detectors. In spite of the long history of the study on the energy deposition of charged particles in materials, a full agreement between the…
We report on the response of liquid xenon to low energy electronic recoils below 15 keV from beta decays of tritium at drift fields of 92 V/cm, 154 V/cm and 366 V/cm using the XENON100 detector. A data-to-simulation fitting method based on…
ArDM-1t is the prototype for a next generation WIMP detector measuring both the scintillation light and the ionization charge from nuclear recoils in a 1-ton liquid argon target. The goal is to reach a minimum recoil energy of 30\,keVr to…
Superfluid $^4$He is a promising target material for direct detection of light ($<$ 1 GeV) dark matter. Possible signal channels available for readout in this medium include prompt photons, triplet excimers, and roton and phonon…
Charge-coupled devices (CCDs) are a leading technology in direct dark matter searches because of their eV-scale energy threshold and high spatial resolution. The sensitivity of future CCD experiments could be enhanced by distinguishing…
The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment aims to detect dark matter particles that elastically scatter from nuclei in semiconductor detectors. The resulting nuclear-recoil energy depositions are detected by ionization and…
Low-energy nuclear recoils (NRs) are hard to measure because they produce few e$^{-}$/h$^+$ pairs in solids -- i.e. they have low "ionization yield". A silicon detector was exposed to thermal neutrons over 2.5\,live-days, probing NRs down…
We present a model of the ionization efficiency, or quenching factor, for low-energy nuclear recoils, based on a solution to Lindhard integral equation with binding energy and apply it to the calculation of the relative scintillation…
Liquid xenon is an important detection medium in direct dark matter experiments, which search for low-energy nuclear recoils produced by the elastic scattering of WIMPs with quarks. The two existing measurements of the relative…
New-generation direct searches for low mass dark matter feature detection thresholds at energies well below 100 eV, much lower than the energies of commonly used X-ray calibration sources. This requires new calibration sources with sub-keV…