Dark Matter directional detection: comparison of the track direction determination

TL;DR

This paper compares various dark matter detection techniques based on how well they preserve the initial recoil direction of nuclei, crucial for identifying dark matter interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a new observable, D, to quantify the preservation of recoil direction across different detector materials and evaluates their effectiveness.

Findings

In emulsion and crystal detectors, initial direction is quickly lost.

In TPC gas detectors, the initial direction is well preserved.

The new observable D effectively measures direction preservation.

Abstract

Several directional techniques have been proposed for a directional detection of Dark matter, among others anisotropic crystal detectors, nuclear emulsion plates, and low-pressure gaseous TPCs. The key point is to get access to the initial direction of the nucleus recoiling due to the elastic scattering by a WIMP. In this article, we aim at estimating, for each method, how the information of the recoil track initial direction is preserved in different detector materials. We use the SRIM simulation code to emulate the motion of the first recoiling nucleus in each material. We propose the use of a new observable, D, to quantify the preservation of the initial direction of the recoiling nucleus in the detector. We show that in an emulsion mix and an anisotropic crystal, the initial direction is lost very early, while in a typical TPC gas mix, the direction is well preserved.