Title: Effects of lattice defects in dark matter direct detection experiments

Abstract: In order to expand the coverage of the direct searches of dark matter (DM) towards lower mass DM particles, new detectors with low thresholds for observing the energy deposited in a DM scattering event are being developed. The detection thresholds are now reaching the ~10 eV scale. In solid state materials the threshold displacement energy, i.e. the energy required to create a lattice defect by displacing an atom from the lattice position, is often in the same 10 eV range. This implies that the defect creation process might significantly affect the observation of low energy nuclear recoil events. The defect creation process is also strongly dependent on the recoil direction with respect to the crystal structure, therefore providing a possibility for directionally sensitive DM detection. I will discuss our recent work on the effects of lattice defects for low threshold DM detectors, based on:  arXiv:1903.08654 arXiv:2103.08511 arXiv:2112.14495

Talk – Video

Talk – Slides