Defect Formation in NaI Crystals: A Novel Pathway to Dark Matter Detection

Abstract

Sodium iodide (NaI) is a widely used scintillator in direct dark matter searches. In particular, NaI-based cryogenic scintillating calorimeters have emerged as promising candidates, like in the COSINUS experiment, for testing the annually modulating signal reported by DAMA/LIBRA. In this study, we investigate defect formation within NaI crystals and its impact on the dark matter detection signal. Using molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory techniques, we simulate a DM particle collision on an NaI crystal, focusing on the possible defects formation and their structural and electronic properties. Our analysis includes a detailed study of the electronic states associated with the interstitial atoms and vacancies, the energetic cost of defect formation, and the anisotropic threshold displacement energy. Finally, we highlight the potential to exploit dark matter-induced defects as a novel detection channel, enabled by the introduction of new states within the electronic band gap.

arXiv comment12 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (23)

• Particle Dark Matter: Evidence, Candidates and Constraints
• Supersymmetric Dark Matter
• Final model independent result of DAMA/LIBRA-phase1
• The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) Experiment
• A review of the discovery reach of directional Dark Matter detection
• First germanium-based constraints on sub-MeV Dark Matter with the EDELWEISS experiment
• The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment
• CoGeNT Interpretations
• Generalized Analysis of Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle Searches
• Model Independent Form Factors for Spin Independent Neutralino-Nucleon Scattering from Elastic Electron Scattering Data
• Generation of Intrinsic Vibrational Gap Modes in Three-Dimensional Ionic Crystals
• The COSINUS project - perspectives of a NaI scintillating calorimeter for dark matter search
• Readout strategies for directional dark matter detection beyond the neutrino background
• The electron elevator: excitations across the band gap via a dynamical gap state?
• The XENONnT Dark Matter Experiment
• Three-year annual modulation search with COSINE-100
• Directional Sensitivity In Light-Mass Dark Matter Searches With Single-Electron Resolution Ionization Detectors
• Model-independent comparison of annual modulation and total rate with direct detection experiments
• Velocity Dependent Dark Matter Interactions in Single-Electron Resolution Semiconductor Detectors with Directional Sensitivity
• Energy loss in low energy nuclear recoils in dark matter detector materials
• Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter. A Whitepaper
• Detector development for the CRESST experiment
• Search for dark matter annual modulation with DarkSide-50

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Information-theoretic astrophysical uncertainties in the effective theory of dark matter direct detection