Papers › Dark Matter Direct Detection in Materials with Spin-Orbit Coupling

Dark Matter Direct Detection in Materials with Spin-Orbit Coupling

23 Feb 2022arXiv:2202.11716links table onlyarchive 2025-07-28

Hsiao-Yi Chen, Andrea Mitridate, Tanner Trickle, Zhengkang Zhang, Marco Bernardi, Kathryn M. Zurek

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Semiconductors with 𝒪(meV) band gaps have been shown to be promising targets to search for sub-MeV mass dark matter (DM). In this paper we focus on a class of materials where such narrow band gaps arise naturally as a consequence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Specifically, we are interested in computing DM-electron scattering and absorption rates in these materials using state-of-the-art density functional theory (DFT) techniques. To do this, we extend the DM interaction rate calculation to include SOC effects which necessitates a generalization to spin-dependent wave functions. We apply our new formalism to calculate limits for several DM benchmark models using an example ZrTe₅ target and show that the inclusion of SOC can substantially alter projected constraints.

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