Na-based crystal scintillators for next-generation rare event searches

Abstract

The growing interest in clarifying the controversial situation in the Dark Matter sector has driven the experimental efforts towards new ways to investigate the long-standing DAMA/LIBRA result. Among them, low-temperature calorimeters based on Na-containing scintillating crystals offer the possibility to clarify the nature of the measured signal via particle identification. Here we report the first measurement of Na-containing crystals, based on material different from NaI, i.e. Na${}_2$Mo${}_2$O${}_7$ and Na${}_2$W${}_2$O${}_7$, pointing out their excellent performance in term of energy resolution, light yield, and particle identification.