Dr. Kimberly Palladino: Publications

Dark Matter Search Results from 4.2 Tonne-Years of Exposure of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment

Physical Review Letters American Physical Society (APS) 135:1 (2025) 011802

Authors:

J Aalbers, DS Akerib, AK Al Musalhi, F Alder, CS Amarasinghe, A Ames, TJ Anderson, N Angelides, HM Araújo, JE Armstrong, M Arthurs, A Baker, S Balashov, J Bang, JW Bargemann, EE Barillier, D Bauer, K Beattie, T Benson, A Bhatti, A Biekert, TP Biesiadzinski, HJ Birch, E Bishop, GM Blockinger, B Boxer, CAJ Brew, P Brás, S Burdin, M Buuck, MC Carmona-Benitez, M Carter, A Chawla, H Chen, JJ Cherwinka, YT Chin, NI Chott, MV Converse, R Coronel, A Cottle, G Cox, D Curran, CE Dahl, I Darlington, S Dave, A David, J Delgaudio, S Dey, L de Viveiros, L Di Felice, C Ding, JEY Dobson, E Druszkiewicz, S Dubey, SR Eriksen, A Fan, S Fayer, NM Fearon, N Fieldhouse, S Fiorucci, H Flaecher, ED Fraser, TMA Fruth, RJ Gaitskell, A Geffre, J Genovesi, C Ghag, A Ghosh, R Gibbons, S Gokhale, J Green, MGD van der Grinten, JJ Haiston, CR Hall, TJ Hall, S Han, E Hartigan-O’Connor, SJ Haselschwardt, MA Hernandez, SA Hertel, G Heuermann, GJ Homenides, M Horn, DQ Huang, D Hunt, E Jacquet, RS James, J Johnson, AC Kaboth, AC Kamaha, Meghna K K., D Khaitan, A Khazov, I Khurana, J Kim, YD Kim, J Kingston, R Kirk, D Kodroff, L Korley, EV Korolkova, H Kraus, S Kravitz, L Kreczko, VA Kudryavtsev, C Lawes, DS Leonard, KT Lesko, C Levy, J Lin, A Lindote, WH Lippincott, MI Lopes, W Lorenzon, C Lu, S Luitz, PA Majewski, A Manalaysay, RL Mannino, C Maupin, ME McCarthy, G McDowell, DN McKinsey, J McLaughlin, JB McLaughlin, R McMonigle, E Mizrachi, A Monte, ME Monzani, JD Morales Mendoza, E Morrison, BJ Mount, M Murdy, A St J Murphy, A Naylor, HN Nelson, F Neves, A Nguyen, CL O’Brien, I Olcina, KC Oliver-Mallory, J Orpwood, KY Oyulmaz, KJ Palladino, J Palmer, NJ Pannifer, N Parveen, SJ Patton, B Penning, G Pereira, E Perry, T Pershing, A Piepke, Y Qie, J Reichenbacher, CA Rhyne, A Richards, Q Riffard, GRC Rischbieter, E Ritchey, HS Riyat, R Rosero, T Rushton, D Rynders, D Santone, ABMR Sazzad, RW Schnee, G Sehr, B Shafer, S Shaw, T Shutt, JJ Silk, C Silva, G Sinev, J Siniscalco, R Smith, VN Solovov, P Sorensen, J Soria, I Stancu, A Stevens, K Stifter, B Suerfu, TJ Sumner, M Szydagis, DR Tiedt, M Timalsina, Z Tong, DR Tovey, J Tranter, M Trask, M Tripathi, A Usón, A Vacheret, AC Vaitkus, O Valentino, V Velan, A Wang, JJ Wang, Y Wang, JR Watson, L Weeldreyer, TJ Whitis, K Wild, M Williams, WJ Wisniewski, L Wolf, FLH Wolfs, S Woodford, D Woodward, CJ Wright, Q Xia, J Xu, Y Xu, M Yeh, D Yeum, W Zha, EA Zweig

Abstract:

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 \pm 0.1

tonne-years from 280 live days of LZ operation, of which

3.3 \pm 0.1

tonne-years and 220 live days are new. A technique to actively tag background electronic recoils from

{}^{214}{Pb}

β

decays is featured for the first time. Enhanced electron-ion recombination is observed in two-neutrino double electron capture decays of

{}^{124}{Xe}

, 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

\geq 9 GeV / c^{2}

. The strongest SI exclusion set is

2.2 \times 10^{- 48} {cm}^{2}

at the 90% confidence level and the best SI median sensitivity achieved is

5.1 \times 10^{- 48} {cm}^{2}

, both for a mass of

40 GeV / c^{2}

. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Measurements and models of enhanced recombination following inner-shell vacancies in liquid xenon

Physical Review D American Physical Society (APS) 112:1 (2025) 012024

Authors:

J Aalbers, DS Akerib, AK Al Musalhi, F Alder, CS Amarasinghe, A Ames, TJ Anderson, N Angelides, HM Araújo, JE Armstrong, M Arthurs, A Baker, S Balashov, J Bang, JW Bargemann, EE Barillier, K Beattie, T Benson, A Bhatti, A Biekert, TP Biesiadzinski, HJ Birch, E Bishop, GM Blockinger, B Boxer, CAJ Brew, P Brás, S Burdin, M Buuck, MC Carmona-Benitez, M Carter, A Chawla, H Chen, JJ Cherwinka, YT Chin, NI Chott, MV Converse, R Coronel, A Cottle, G Cox, D Curran, CE Dahl, I Darlington, S Dave, A David, J Delgaudio, S Dey, L de Viveiros, L Di Felice, C Ding, JEY Dobson, E Druszkiewicz, S Dubey, SR Eriksen, A Fan, NM Fearon, N Fieldhouse, S Fiorucci, H Flaecher, ED Fraser, TMA Fruth, RJ Gaitskell, A Geffre, J Genovesi, C Ghag, R Gibbons, S Gokhale, J Green, MGD van der Grinten, JJ Haiston, CR Hall, T Hall, S Han, E Hartigan-O’Connor, SJ Haselschwardt, MA Hernandez, SA Hertel, G Heuermann, GJ Homenides, M Horn, DQ Huang, D Hunt, E Jacquet, RS James, MK Kannichankandy, AC Kaboth, AC Kamaha, D Khaitan, A Khazov, J Kim, YD Kim, J Kingston, R Kirk, D Kodroff, L Korley, EV Korolkova, H Kraus, S Kravitz, L Kreczko, VA Kudryavtsev, C Lawes, DS Leonard, KT Lesko, C Levy, J Lin, A Lindote, WH Lippincott, MI Lopes, W Lorenzon, C Lu, S Luitz, PA Majewski, A Manalaysay, RL Mannino, C Maupin, ME McCarthy, G McDowell, DN McKinsey, J McLaughlin, JB McLaughlin, R McMonigle, E Mizrachi, ME Monzani, E Morrison, BJ Mount, M Murdy, A St J Murphy, HN Nelson, F Neves, A Nguyen, CL O’Brien, I Olcina, KC Oliver-Mallory, J Orpwood, KY Oyulmaz, KJ Palladino, J Palmer, NJ Pannifer, N Parveen, SJ Patton, B Penning, G Pereira, E Perry, T Pershing, A Piepke, Y Qie, J Reichenbacher, CA Rhyne, GRC Rischbieter, E Ritchey, HS Riyat, R Rosero, T Rushton, D Rynders, D Santone, ABMR Sazzad, RW Schnee, G Sehr, B Shafer, S Shaw, K Shi, T Shutt, JJ Silk, C Silva, J Siniscalco, R Smith, VN Solovov, P Sorensen, J Soria, I Stancu, A Stevens, K Stifter, B Suerfu, TJ Sumner, A Swain, M Szydagis, DR Tiedt, M Timalsina, Z Tong, DR Tovey, J Tranter, M Trask, M Tripathi, A Usón, AC Vaitkus, O Valentino, V Velan, A Wang, JJ Wang, Y Wang, JR Watson, L Weeldreyer, TJ Whitis, K Wild, M Williams, WJ Wisniewski, L Wolf, FLH Wolfs, S Woodford, D Woodward, CJ Wright, Q Xia, J Xu, Y Xu, M Yeh, D Yeum, W Zha, H Zhang

Abstract:

Electron-capture decays of

{}^{125}{Xe}

and

{}^{127}{Xe}

, and double-electron-capture decays of

{}^{124}{Xe}

, are backgrounds in searches for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) conducted by dual-phase xenon time projection chambers such as LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ). These decays produce signals with more light and less charge than equivalent-energy

β

decays and correspondingly overlap more with WIMP signals. We measure three electron-capture charge yields in LZ: the 1.1 keV M-shell, 5.2 keV L-shell, and 33.2 keV K-shell at drift fields of 193 and

96.5 V / cm

. The LL double-electron-capture decay of

{}^{124}{Xe}

exhibits even more pronounced shifts in charge and light. We provide a first model of double-electron-capture charge yields using the link between ionization density and electron-ion recombination, and identify a need for more accurate calculations. Finally, we discuss the implications of the reduced charge yield of these decays and other interactions creating inner-shell vacancies for future dark matter searches.

First Constraint on Atmospheric Millicharged Particles with the LUX-ZEPLIN Experiment

Physical Review Letters American Physical Society (APS) 134:24 (2025) 241802

Authors:

J Aalbers, DS Akerib, AK Al Musalhi, F Alder, CS Amarasinghe, A Ames, TJ Anderson, N Angelides, HM Araújo, JE Armstrong, M Arthurs, A Baker, S Balashov, J Bang, JW Bargemann, EE Barillier, D Bauer, K Beattie, T Benson, A Bhatti, A Biekert, TP Biesiadzinski, HJ Birch, E Bishop, GM Blockinger, B Boxer, CAJ Brew, P Brás, S Burdin, M Buuck, MC Carmona-Benitez, M Carter, A Chawla, H Chen, JJ Cherwinka, YT Chin, NI Chott, MV Converse, R Coronel, A Cottle, G Cox, D Curran, CE Dahl, I Darlington, S Dave, A David, J Delgaudio, S Dey, L de Viveiros, L Di Felice, C Ding, JEY Dobson, E Druszkiewicz, S Dubey, SR Eriksen, A Fan, S Fayer, NM Fearon, N Fieldhouse, S Fiorucci, H Flaecher, ED Fraser, TMA Fruth, RJ Gaitskell, A Geffre, J Genovesi, C Ghag, A Ghosh, R Gibbons, S Gokhale, J Green, MGD van der Grinten, JJ Haiston, CR Hall, TJ Hall, S Han, E Hartigan-O’Connor, SJ Haselschwardt, MA Hernandez, SA Hertel, G Heuermann, GJ Homenides, M Horn, DQ Huang, D Hunt, E Jacquet, RS James, J Johnson, AC Kaboth, AC Kamaha, M Kannichankandy, D Khaitan, A Khazov, I Khurana, J Kim, YD Kim, J Kingston, R Kirk, D Kodroff, L Korley, EV Korolkova, H Kraus, S Kravitz, L Kreczko, VA Kudryavtsev, C Lawes, DS Leonard, KT Lesko, C Levy, J Lin, A Lindote, WH Lippincott, MI Lopes, W Lorenzon, C Lu, S Luitz, PA Majewski, A Manalaysay, RL Mannino, C Maupin, ME McCarthy, G McDowell, DN McKinsey, J McLaughlin, JB McLaughlin, R McMonigle, E Mizrachi, A Monte, ME Monzani, JD Morales Mendoza, E Morrison, BJ Mount, M Murdy, A St J Murphy, A Naylor, HN Nelson, F Neves, A Nguyen, CL O’Brien, I Olcina, KC Oliver-Mallory, J Orpwood, KY Oyulmaz, KJ Palladino, J Palmer, NJ Pannifer, N Parveen, SJ Patton, B Penning, G Pereira, E Perry, T Pershing, A Piepke, Y Qie, J Reichenbacher, CA Rhyne, A Richards, Q Riffard, GRC Rischbieter, E Ritchey, HS Riyat, R Rosero, T Rushton, D Rynders, D Santone, ABMR Sazzad, RW Schnee, G Sehr, B Shafer, S Shaw, T Shutt, JJ Silk, C Silva, G Sinev, J Siniscalco, R Smith, VN Solovov, P Sorensen, J Soria, I Stancu, A Stevens, K Stifter, B Suerfu, TJ Sumner, M Szydagis, DR Tiedt, M Timalsina, Z Tong, DR Tovey, J Tranter, M Trask, M Tripathi, A Usón, A Vacheret, AC Vaitkus, O Valentino, V Velan, A Wang, JJ Wang, Y Wang, JR Watson, L Weeldreyer, TJ Whitis, K Wild, M Williams, WJ Wisniewski, L Wolf, FLH Wolfs, S Woodford, D Woodward, CJ Wright, Q Xia, J Xu, Y Xu, M Yeh, D Yeum, W Zha, H Zhang, EA Zweig

New Constraints on Cosmic Ray-Boosted Dark Matter from the LUX-ZEPLIN Experiment

Physical Review Letters American Physical Society (APS) 134:24 (2025) 241801

Authors:

J Aalbers, DS Akerib, AK Al Musalhi, F Alder, CS Amarasinghe, A Ames, TJ Anderson, N Angelides, HM Araújo, JE Armstrong, M Arthurs, A Baker, S Balashov, J Bang, JW Bargemann, EE Barillier, K Beattie, T Benson, A Bhatti, A Biekert, TP Biesiadzinski, HJ Birch, E Bishop, GM Blockinger, B Boxer, CAJ Brew, P Brás, S Burdin, M Buuck, MC Carmona-Benitez, M Carter, A Chawla, H Chen, JJ Cherwinka, YT Chin, NI Chott, MV Converse, R Coronel, A Cottle, G Cox, D Curran, CE Dahl, I Darlington, S Dave, A David, J Delgaudio, S Dey, L de Viveiros, L Di Felice, C Ding, JEY Dobson, E Druszkiewicz, S Dubey, SR Eriksen, A Fan, NM Fearon, N Fieldhouse, S Fiorucci, H Flaecher, ED Fraser, TMA Fruth, RJ Gaitskell, A Geffre, J Genovesi, C Ghag, R Gibbons, S Gokhale, J Green, MGD van der Grinten, JJ Haiston, CR Hall, T Hall, S Han, E Hartigan-O’Connor, SJ Haselschwardt, MA Hernandez, SA Hertel, G Heuermann, GJ Homenides, M Horn, DQ Huang, D Hunt, E Jacquet, RS James, MK Kannichankandy, AC Kaboth, AC Kamaha, D Khaitan, A Khazov, J Kim, YD Kim, J Kingston, R Kirk, D Kodroff, L Korley, EV Korolkova, H Kraus, S Kravitz, L Kreczko, VA Kudryavtsev, C Lawes, DS Leonard, KT Lesko, C Levy, J Lin, A Lindote, WH Lippincott, MI Lopes, W Lorenzon, C Lu, S Luitz, PA Majewski, A Manalaysay, RL Mannino, C Maupin, ME McCarthy, G McDowell, DN McKinsey, J McLaughlin, JB McLaughlin, R McMonigle, E Mizrachi, ME Monzani, E Morrison, BJ Mount, M Murdy, A St J Murphy, HN Nelson, F Neves, A Nguyen, CL O’Brien, I Olcina, KC Oliver-Mallory, J Orpwood, KY Oyulmaz, KJ Palladino, J Palmer, NJ Pannifer, N Parveen, SJ Patton, B Penning, G Pereira, E Perry, T Pershing, A Piepke, Y Qie, J Reichenbacher, CA Rhyne, GRC Rischbieter, E Ritchey, HS Riyat, R Rosero, T Rushton, D Rynders, D Santone, ABMR Sazzad, RW Schnee, G Sehr, B Shafer, S Shaw, K Shi, T Shutt, JJ Silk, C Silva, J Siniscalco, R Smith, VN Solovov, P Sorensen, J Soria, I Stancu, A Stevens, K Stifter, B Suerfu, TJ Sumner, A Swain, M Szydagis, DR Tiedt, M Timalsina, Z Tong, DR Tovey, J Tranter, M Trask, M Tripathi, A Usón, AC Vaitkus, O Valentino, V Velan, A Wang, JJ Wang, Y Wang, JR Watson, L Weeldreyer, TJ Whitis, K Wild, M Williams, WJ Wisniewski, L Wolf, FLH Wolfs, S Woodford, D Woodward, CJ Wright, Q Xia, J Xu, Y Xu, M Yeh, D Yeum, W Zha, H Zhang

Neutrinoless double beta decay sensitivity of the XLZD rare event observatory

Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics IOP Publishing 52:4 (2025) 045102

Authors:

J Aalbers, K Abe, M Adrover, S Ahmed Maouloud, DS Akerib, AK Al Musalhi, F Alder, L Althueser, DWP Amaral, CS Amarasinghe, A Ames, B Andrieu, N Angelides, E Angelino, B Antunovic, E Aprile, HM Araújo, JE Armstrong, M Arthurs, M Babicz, A Baker, M Balzer, J Bang, E Barberio

Abstract:

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 136Xe using a natural-abundance xenon target. XLZD can reach a 3σ discovery potential half-life of 5.7 × 1027 years (and a 90% CL exclusion of 1.3 × 1028 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.

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