First High-Throughput Evaluation of Dark Matter Detector Materials.

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Particle Astrophysics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Direct dark matter detection experiments aim to identify non-luminous matter comprising the majority of the universe's mass.
• Current detectors face limitations in sensitivity, particularly for low-mass dark matter candidates (e.g., keV scale).
• Materials science offers a rich landscape of properties that could be leveraged for novel detector designs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct the first high-throughput search and evaluation of materials for low-mass dark matter detection.
• To project the sensitivity of potential dark matter detectors based on material properties.
• To explore directional detection capabilities and daily modulation effects for identifying the dark matter wind.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a dataset of nearly 1000 materials from the Materials Project database.
• Simulated dark matter interactions (absorption and scattering) with electrons in candidate materials.
• Calculated directional sensitivities and daily modulation amplitudes for anisotropic materials.

Main Results:

• Identified promising materials for constructing highly sensitive low-mass dark matter detectors.
• Projected the potential sensitivity reach in dark matter parameter space for various materials.
• Highlighted materials exhibiting significant daily modulation and directional sensitivity, crucial for detecting the dark matter wind.

Conclusions:

• Developed a data-driven framework for designing next-generation dark matter detectors.
• Demonstrated the application of condensed matter physics principles to optimize dark matter searches.
• Laid the groundwork for highly sensitive direct detection of keV-scale dark matter.