Prediction of Tunable Spin-Orbit Gapped Materials for Dark Matter Detection

Abstract

New ideas for low-mass dark matter direct detection suggest that narrow band gap materials, such as Dirac semiconductors, are sensitive to the absorption of meV dark matter or the scattering of keV dark matter. Here we propose spin-orbit semiconductors - materials whose band gap arises due to spin-orbit coupling - as low-mass dark matter targets owing to their ~10 meV band gaps. We present three material families that are predicted to be spin-orbit semiconductors using Density Functional Theory (DFT), assess their electronic and topological features, and evaluate their use as low-mass dark matter targets. In particular, we find that that the tin pnictide compounds are especially suitable having a tunable range of meV-scale band gaps with anisotropic Fermi velocities allowing directional detection. Finally, we address the pitfalls in the DFT methods that must be considered in the ab initio prediction of narrow-gapped materials, including those close to the topological critical point.

arXiv comment10 pages, 7 figures + SI 6 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (31)

• Quantum Spin Hall Effect in Graphene
• WannierTools: An open-source software package for novel topological materials
• Wannier90 as a community code: new features and applications
• Localization and delocalization errors in density functional theory and implications for band-gap prediction
• Predicting Band Gaps with Hybrid Density Functionals
• 3D Dirac semimetals: current materials, design principles and predictions of new materials
• Detection of sub-MeV Dark Matter with Three-Dimensional Dirac Materials
• Detecting Superlight Dark Matter with Fermi-Degenerate Materials
• Detection of Light Dark Matter With Optical Phonons in Polar Materials
• Quantum Oscillations in a Topological Insulator Bi${}_2$Te${}_2$Se with Large Bulk Resistivity (6 $\Omega$cm)
• Absorption of light dark matter in semiconductors
• Direct Detection of sub-GeV Dark Matter with Scintillating Targets
• Detecting Ultralight Bosonic Dark Matter via Absorption in Superconductors
• Light Dark Matter in Superfluid Helium: Detection with Multi-excitation Production
• Temperature-driven Topological Phase Transition and Intermediate Dirac Semimetal Phase in ZrTe${}_5$
• Multi-Channel Direct Detection of Light Dark Matter: Target Comparison
• False-positive and False-negative assignments of Topological Insulators in Density-Functional Theory and Hybrids
• Multi-Channel Direct Detection of Light Dark Matter: Theoretical Framework
• Dirac Materials for Sub-MeV Dark Matter Detection: New Targets and Improved Formalism
• Discovering new two-dimensional topological insulators from computational screening
• NaSn2As2: An Exfoliatable Layered van der Waals Zintl Phase
• SnAs-based layered superconductor NaSn2As2
• Strain driven onset of non-trivial topological insulating states in Zintl Sr${}_{2}X$ compounds ($X$=Pb, Sn)
• Materials Informatics for Dark Matter Detection
• Unraveling the topology of ZrTe${}_5$ by changing temperature
• Thermodynamic signatures for the existence of Dirac electrons in ZrTe5
• First Principles Modeling of Topological Insulators: Structural Optimization and Exchange Correlation Functionals
• Evidence for s-wave Pairing with Atomic Scale Disorder in the van der Waals Superconductor NaSn2As2
• Spectral and optical properties of Ag${}_3$Au(Se${}_2$,Te${}_2$) and dark matter detection
• Possible Experimental Realization of a Basic Z2 Topological Semimetal
• Stacking-dependent energetics and electronic structure of ultrathin polymorphic V${}_2$VI${}_3$ topological insulator nanofilms

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Searches for light dark matter using condensed matter systems
• Extended Calculation of Dark Matter-Electron Scattering in Crystal Targets
• Dark Matter Absorption via Electronic Excitations
• EXCEED-DM: Extended Calculation of Electronic Excitations for Direct Detection of Dark Matter
• Dark Matter Direct Detection in Materials with Spin-Orbit Coupling
• Effective Field Theory for Dark Matter Absorption on Single Phonons
• Absorption of Axion Dark Matter in a Magnetized Medium
• Prediction of topological phases in metastable ferromagnetic MPX${}_3$ monolayers
• Linear response theory for light dark matter-electron scattering in materials
• Absorption of Vector Dark Matter Beyond Kinetic Mixing
• The Non-Relativistic Effective Field Theory Of Dark Matter-Electron Interactions