Reply to the Comments on the XENON100 First Dark Matter Results

TL;DR

This paper responds to criticisms of the XENON100 dark matter experiment's analysis, clarifying the extrapolation of scintillation efficiency at low energies where data is lacking.

Contribution

It provides clarifications and defenses of the original analysis, addressing specific criticisms about extrapolation methods used in the dark matter search.

Findings

Clarifies the extrapolation of L_eff at low energies.

Addresses criticisms regarding data and theoretical models.

Reaffirms the validity of the original analysis.

Abstract

The recently submitted preprint on the first results from the XENON100 dark matter experiment (arxiv:1005.0380) was followed by a criticism by J.I. Collar and D.N. McKinsey (arxiv:1005.0838), focused on our extrapolation of the scintillation efficiency L_eff to the lowest nuclear recoil energies, where no data and no theoretical model exist. Here we add clarifications on our analysis and comment on their criticism.