Dual-phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC) detectors offer heightened sensitivities for dark matter detection across a spectrum of particle masses. To broaden their capability to low-mass dark matter interactions, we investigated the light and charge responses of liquid xenon (LXe) to sub-keV nuclear recoils. Using neutron events from a pulsed Adelphi Deuterium-Deuterium neutron generator, an in situ calibration was conducted on the LUX detector. We demonstrate direct measurements of light and charge yields down to 0.45 keV and 0.27 keV, respectively, both approaching single quanta production, the physical limit of LXe detectors. These results hold significant implications for the future of dual-phase xenon TPCs in detecting low-mass dark matter via nuclear recoils.

The broad physics reach of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment covers rare phenomena beyond the direct detection of dark matter. We report precise measurements of the extremely rare decay of Xe-124 through the process of two-neutrino double electron capture, utilizing a 1.39 kg x yr isotopic exposure from the first LZ science run. A half-life of T-1/2(2 nu 2EC) = (1.09 +/- 0.14(stat)+/- 0.0(5sys))x10(22) yr is observed with a statistical significance of 8.3 sigma, in agreement with literature. First empirical measurements of the KK capture fraction relative to other K-shell modes were conducted, and demonstrate consistency with respect to recent signal models at the 1.4 sigma level.

The field of dark matter detection is a highly visible and highly competitive one. In this paper, we propose recommendations for presenting dark matter direct detection results particularly suited for weak-scale dark matter searches, although we believe the spirit of the recommendations can apply more broadly to searches for other dark matter candidates, such as very light dark matter or axions. To translate experimental data into a final published result, direct detection collaborations must make a series of choices in their analysis, ranging from how to model astrophysical parameters to how to make statistical inferences based on observed data. While many collaborations follow a standard set of recommendations in some areas, for example the expected flux of dark matter particles (to a large degree based on a paper from Lewin and Smith in 1995), in other areas, particularly in statistical inference, they have taken different approaches, often from result to result by the same collaboration. We set out a number of recommendations on how to apply the now commonly used Profile Likelihood Ratio method to direct detection data. In addition, updated recommendations for the Standard Halo Model astrophysical parameters and relevant neutrino fluxes are provided. The authors of this note include members of the DAMIC, DarkSide, DARWIN, DEAP, LZ, NEWS-G, PandaX, PICO, SBC, SENSEI, SuperCDMS, and XENON collaborations, and these collaborations provided input to the recommendations laid out here. Wide-spread adoption of these recommendations will make it easier to compare and combine future dark matter results.

We report results of a search for nuclear recoils induced by weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter using the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) two-phase xenon time projection chamber. This analysis uses a total exposure of 4.2 +/- 0.1 tonne-years from 280 live days of LZ operation, of which 3.3 +/- 0.1 tonne-years and 220 live days are new. A technique to actively tag background electronic recoils from 214Pb beta decays is featured for the first time. Enhanced electron-ion recombination is observed in two-neutrino double electron capture decays of Xe-124, representing a noteworthy new background. After removal of artificial signal-like events injected into the dataset to mitigate analyzer bias, we find no evidence for an excess over expected backgrounds. World-leading constraints are placed on spin-independent (SI) and spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon cross sections for masses >= 9 GeV/c(2). The strongest SI exclusion set is 2.2 x 10(-48) cm(2) at the 90% confidence level and the best SI median sensitivity achieved is 5.1 x 10(-48) cm(2), both for a mass of 40 GeV/c(2).

The XLZD collaboration is developing a two-phase xenon time projection chamber with an active mass of 60–80 t capable of probing the remaining weakly interacting massive particle-nucleon interaction parameter space down to the so-called neutrino fog. In this work we show that, based on the performance of currently operating detectors using the same technology and a realistic reduction of radioactivity in detector materials, such an experiment will also be able to competitively search for neutrinoless double beta decay in 136 Xe using a natural-abundance xenon target. XLZD can reach a 3 σ discovery potential half-life of 5.7 × 10 27 years (and a 90% CL exclusion of 1.3 × 10 28 years) with 10 years of data taking, corresponding to a Majorana mass range of 7.3–31.3 meV (4.8–20.5 meV). XLZD will thus exclude the inverted neutrino mass ordering parameter space and will start to probe the normal ordering region for most of the nuclear matrix elements commonly considered by the community.

This report describes the experimental strategy and technologies for XLZD, the next-generation xenon observatory sensitive to dark matter and neutrino physics. In the baseline design, the detector will have an active liquid xenon target of 60 tonnes, which could be increased to 80 tonnes if the market conditions for xenon are favorable. It is based on the mature liquid xenon time projection chamber technology used in current-generation experiments, LZ and XENONnT. The report discusses the baseline design and opportunities for further optimization of the individual detector components. The experiment envisaged here has the capability to explore parameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter down to the neutrino fog, with a 3σ evidence potential for WIMP-nucleon cross sections as low as 3×10^-49 cm^2 (at 40 GeV/c^2 WIMP mass). The observatory will also have leading sensitivity to a wide range of alternative dark matter models. It is projected to have a 3σ observation potential of neutrinoless double beta decay of ^136Xe at a half-life of up to 5.7× 10^27 years. Additionally, it is sensitive to astrophysical neutrinos from the sun and galactic supernovae.

We report on a search for millicharged particles (mCPs) produced in cosmic ray atmospheric interactions using data collected during the first science run of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment. The mCPs produced by two processes-meson decay and proton bremsstrahlung-are considered in this study. This search utilized a novel signature unique to liquid xenon (LXe) time projection chambers, allowing sensitivity to mCPs with masses ranging from 10 to 1000 MeV/c(2) and fractional charges between 0.001 and 0.02 of the electron charge (e). With an exposure of 60 live days and a 5.5 metric ton fiducial mass, we observed no significant excess over background. This represents the first experimental search for atmospheric mCPs and the first search for mCPs using an underground LXe experiment.

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment is a dual-phase xenon time project chamber operating in the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota, USA. We report on the results of a relativistic extension to the nonrelativistic effective field theory (NREFT) from a 5.5 t fiducial mass and 60 live days of exposure. We present constraints on couplings from covariant interactions arising from the coupling of vector, axial currents, and electric dipole moments of the nucleon to the magnetic and electric dipole moments of the weakly interacting massive particle which cannot be described by recasting previous results described by an NREFT. Using a profile-likelihood ratio analysis, in an energy region between 0  keV_{nr} to 270  keV_{nr}, we report 90% confidence level exclusion limits on the coupling strength of five interactions in both the isoscalar and isovector bases.

Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) may interact with a virtual pion that is exchanged between nucleons. This interaction channel is important to consider in models where the spin-independent isoscalar channel is suppressed. Using data from the first science run of the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment, containing 60 live days of data in a 5.5~tonne fiducial mass of liquid xenon, we report the results on a search for WIMP-pion interactions. We observe no significant excess and set an upper limit of $1.5\times10^{-46}$~cm$^2$ at a 90\% confidence level for a WIMP mass of 33~GeV/c$^2$ for this interaction.

Searches for dark matter with liquid xenon time projection chamber experiments have traditionally focused on the region of the parameter space that is characteristic of weakly interacting massive particles, ranging from a few GeV/$c^2$ to a few TeV/$c^2$. Models of dark matter with a mass much heavier than this are well motivated by early production mechanisms different from the standard thermal freeze-out, but they have generally been less explored experimentally. In this work, we present a re-analysis of the first science run (SR1) of the LZ experiment, with an exposure of $0.9$ tonne$\times$year, to search for ultraheavy particle dark matter. The signal topology consists of multiple energy deposits in the active region of the detector forming a straight line, from which the velocity of the incoming particle can be reconstructed on an event-by-event basis. Zero events with this topology were observed after applying the data selection calibrated on a simulated sample of signal-like events. New experimental constraints are derived, which rule out previously unexplored regions of the dark matter parameter space of spin-independent interactions beyond a mass of 10$^{17}$ GeV/$c^2$.

Following the first science results of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment, a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating from the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA, we report the initial limits on a model-independent non-relativistic effective field theory describing the complete set of possible interactions of a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) with a nucleon. These results utilize the same 5.5 t fiducial mass and 60 live days of exposure collected for the LZ spin-independent and spin-dependent analyses while extending the upper limit of the energy region of interest by a factor of 7.5 to 270 keVnr. No significant excess in this high energy region is observed. Using a profile-likelihood ratio analysis, we report 90% confidence level exclusion limits on the coupling of each individual non-relativistic WIMP-nucleon operator for both elastic and inelastic interactions in the isoscalar and isovector bases.

We report the first measurement of discrimination between low-energy helium recoils and electron recoils in liquid xenon. This result is relevant to proposed low-mass dark matter searches which seek to dissolve light target nuclei in the active volume of liquid-xenon time projection chambers. Low-energy helium recoils were produced by degrading α particles from ^{210}Po with a gold foil situated on the cathode of a liquid xenon time-projection chamber. The resulting population of helium recoil events is well separated from electron recoils and is also offset from the expected position of xenon nuclear recoil events.

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a tonne-scale experiment searching for direct dark matter interactions and other rare events. It is located at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, USA. The core of the LZ detector is a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC), designed with the primary goal of detecting Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) via their induced low energy nuclear recoils. Surrounding the TPC, two veto detectors immersed in an ultra-pure water tank enable reducing background events to enhance the discovery potential. Intricate calibration systems are purposely designed to precisely understand the responses of these three detector volumes to various types of particle interactions and to demonstrate LZ's ability to discriminate between signals and backgrounds. In this paper, we present a comprehensive discussion of the key features, requirements, and performance of the LZ calibration systems, which play a crucial role in enabling LZ's WIMP-search and its broad science program. The thorough description of these calibration systems, with an emphasis on their novel aspects, is valuable for future calibration efforts in direct dark matter and other rare-event search experiments.

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment is a dark matter detector centered on a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber. We report searches for new physics appearing through few-keV-scale electron recoils, using the experiment's first exposure of 60 live days and a fiducial mass of 5.5t. The data are found to be consistent with a background-only hypothesis, and limits are set on models for new physics including solar axion electron coupling, solar neutrino magnetic moment and millicharge, and electron couplings to galactic axion-like particles and hidden photons. Similar limits are set on weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter producing signals through ionized atomic states from the Migdal effect.

The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment recently reported limits on WIMP-nucleus interactions from its initial science run, down to $9.2\times10^{-48}$ cm$^2$ for the spin-independent interaction of a 36 GeV/c$^2$ WIMP at 90% confidence level. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of the backgrounds important for this result and for other upcoming physics analyses, including neutrinoless double-beta decay searches and effective field theory interpretations of LUX-ZEPLIN data. We confirm that the in-situ determinations of bulk and fixed radioactive backgrounds are consistent with expectations from the ex-situ assays. The observed background rate after WIMP search criteria were applied was $(6.3\pm0.5)\times10^{-5}$ events/keV$_{ee}$/kg/day in the low-energy region, approximately 60 times lower than the equivalent rate reported by the LUX experiment.

We estimate the amount of $^{37}$Ar produced in natural xenon via cosmic ray-induced spallation, an inevitable consequence of the transportation and storage of xenon on the Earth's surface. We then calculate the resulting $^{37}$Ar concentration in a 10-tonne payload~(similar to that of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment) assuming a representative schedule of xenon purification, storage and delivery to the underground facility. Using the spallation model by Silberberg and Tsao, the sea level production rate of $^{37}$Ar in natural xenon is estimated to be 0.024~atoms/kg/day. Assuming the xenon is successively purified to remove radioactive contaminants in 1-tonne batches at a rate of 1~tonne/month, the average $^{37}$Ar activity after 10~tonnes are purified and transported underground is 0.058--0.090~$\mu$Bq/kg, depending on the degree of argon removal during above-ground purification. Such cosmogenic $^{37}$Ar will appear as a noticeable background in the early science data, while decaying with a 35~day half-life. This newly-noticed production mechanism of $^{37}$Ar should be considered when planning for future liquid xenon-based experiments.

This report summarizes the findings of the CF1 Topical Subgroup to Snowmass 2021, which was focused on particle dark matter. One of the most important scientific goals of the next decade is to reveal the nature of dark matter (DM). To accomplish this goal, we must delve deep, to cover high priority targets including weakly-interacting massive particles (WIMPs), and search wide, to explore as much motivated DM parameter space as possible. A diverse, continuous portfolio of experiments at large, medium, and small scales that includes both direct and indirect detection techniques maximizes the probability of discovering particle DM. Detailed calibrations and modeling of signal and background processes are required to make a convincing discovery. In the event that a candidate particle is found through different means, for example at a particle collider, the program described in this report is also essential to show that it is consistent with the actual cosmological DM. The US has a leading role in both direct and indirect detection dark matter experiments – to maintain this leading role, it is imperative to continue funding major experiments and support a robust R&D program.

The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter search aims to achieve a sensitivity to the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross-section down to (1-2)x10(-12) pb at a WIMP mass of 40 GeV/c(2). This paper describes the simulations framework that, along with radioactivity measurements, was used to support this projection, and also to provide mock data for validating reconstruction and analysis software. Of particular note are the event generators, which allow us to model the background radiation, and the detector response physics used in the production of raw signals, which can be converted into digitized waveforms similar to data from the operational detector. Inclusion of the detector response allows us to process simulated data using the same analysis routines as developed to process the experimental data. Crown Copyright (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report here the results of a nonrelativistic effective field theory (EFT) WIMP search analysis using LUX data. We build upon previous LUX analyses by extending the search window to include nuclear recoil energies up to ∼ 180 keV nr , requiring a reassessment of data quality criteria and background models. In order to use an unbinned profile likelihood statistical framework, the development of new analysis techniques to account for higher-energy backgrounds was required. With a 3 . 14 × 10 4 kg · day exposure using data collected between 2014 and 2016, we find our data is compatible with the background expectation and set 90% C.L. exclusion limits on nonrelativistic EFT WIMP-nucleon couplings, improving upon previous LUX results and providing constraints on a EFT WIMP interactions using the f neutron ; proton g interaction basis. Additionally, we report exclusion limits on inelastic EFT WIMP-isoscalar recoils that are competitive and world-leading for several interaction operators.

This manuscript describes the commissioning of the Mini-CAPTAIN liquid argon detector in a neutron beam at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), which led to a first measurement of high-energy neutron interactions in argon.The Mini-CAPTAIN detector consists of a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with an accompanying photomultiplier tube (PMT) array sealed inside a liquid-argon-filled cryostat.The liquid argon is constantly purified and recirculated in a closed-loop cycle during operation.The specifications and assembly of the detector subsystems and an overview of their performance in a neutron beam are reported.