Directional Detection of Dark Matter using Spectroscopy of Crystal Defects

Understand

We propose a method to identify the direction of an incident Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) via induced nuclear recoil.

• Our method is based on spectroscopic interrogation of quantum defects in macroscopic solid-state crystals .
• When a WIMP scatters in a crystal, the induced nuclear recoil creates a tell-tale damage cluster, localized to within about 50 nm, with an orientation to the damage trail that correlates well with the direction of the recoil and hence the incoming WIMP.
• This damage cluster induces strain in the crystal, shifting the energy levels of nearby quantum defects.