Electronic structure of liquid xenon in the context of light dark matter direct detection

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68407700%3A21340%2F25%3A00388947" target="_blank" >RIV/68407700:21340/25:00388947 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.3.064" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.3.064</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.3.064" target="_blank" >10.21468/SciPostPhys.19.3.064</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Electronic structure of liquid xenon in the context of light dark matter direct detection

Original language description

We present a description of the electronic structure of xenon within the density-functional theory formalism with the goal of accurately modeling dark-matter-induced ionisation in liquid xenon detectors. We compare the calculated electronic structures of the atomic, liquid and crystalline solid phases, and find that the electronic charge density and its derivatives in momentum space are similar in the atom and the liquid, consistent with the weak interatomic van der Waals bonding. The only notable difference is a band broadening of the highest occupied 5p levels, reflected in the densities of states of the condensed phases, as a result of the inter-atomic interactions. We therefore use the calculated density of states of the liquid phase, combined with the standard literature approach for the isolated atom, to recompute ionisation rates and exclusion limit curves for the XENON10 and XENON1T experiments. We find that the broadening of the 5p levels induced by the liquid phase is relevant only for dark matter masses below 6 MeV, where it increases the ionisation rate relative to that of the isolated atom. For most of the explored mass range, the energies of the discrete 4d and 5s levels have the strongest effect on the rate. Our findings suggest a simple scheme for calculating dark matter-electron scattering rates in liquid noble gas detectors, using the calculated values for the atom weighted by the density of states of the condensed phase.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10303 - Particles and field physics

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

SciPost Physics

ISSN

2542-4653

e-ISSN

2542-4653

Volume of the periodical

19

Issue of the periodical within the volume

3

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

35

Pages from-to

—

UT code for WoS article

001563907400002

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105016502871