DOE OSTI · 2585314
Electron-ion recombination in composite interactions in liquid xenon
Abstract
The response of liquid xenon to various types of ionizing radiation has been extensively studied theoretically and experimentally. Recent progress in direct detection dark matter experiments highlights the significance of composite events, where multiple particles interact with xenon simultaneously and generate overlapping ionization signatures. In these events, recombination of electrons and ions associated with different primary particles leads to additional suppression of the ionization signal, introducing a new source of uncertainty in dark matter searches and Migdal effect studies. We developed a model to estimate the recombination enhancement for overlapping low-energy particle interactions. This method, which has minimal dependence on xenon microphysics and is primarily driven by existing experimental data, yields predictions that are consistent with available measurements of composite interactions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the model predictions are robust against xenon microphysics assumptions.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Xu, J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000180845609), Kim, J. [Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000340076440), Lenardo, B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000273455554), Dahl, C. E. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000316372346), Mannino, R. L. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000308666344), Blockinger, G. M. [State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000269143793), Hardy, C. A. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000249891700), Adams, D. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000226855897), Amarasinghe, C. S. [Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000017789651X), Bang, J. [Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States)], Vaitkus, A. C. [Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States)], Ding, C. [Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States)], Lippincott, W. H. [Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000272796090), Szydagis, M. [State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States)], Levy, C. [State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000181113549), Gaitskell, R. J. [Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States)], Essig, R. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000230660486). 2025-07-15. Electron-ion recombination in composite interactions in liquid xenon. https://doi.org/10.1103/8bdr-6njs
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.