Directional Detection of Dark Matter Using Solid-State Quantum Sensing
  Next-generation dark matter (DM) detectors searching for weakly interacting
massive particles (WIMPs) will be sensitive to coherent scattering from solar
neutrinos, demanding an efficient background-signal discrimination tool.
Directional detectors improve sensitivity to WIMP DM despite the irreducible
neutrino background. Wide-bandgap semiconductors offer a path to directional
detection in a high-density target material. A detector of this type operates
in a hybrid mode. The WIMP or neutrino-induced nuclear recoil is detected using
real-time charge, phonon, or photon collection. The directional signal,
however, is imprinted as a durable sub-micron damage track in the lattice
structure. This directional signal can be read out by a variety of atomic
physics techniques, from point defect quantum sensing to x-ray microscopy. In
this white paper, we present the detector principle and review the status of
the experimental techniques required for directional readout of nuclear recoil
tracks. Specifically, we focus on diamond as a target material; it is both a
leading platform for emerging quantum technologies and a promising component of
next-generation semiconductor electronics. Based on the development and
demonstration of directional readout in diamond over the next decade, a future
WIMP detector will leverage or motivate advances in multiple disciplines
towards precision dark matter and neutrino physics.
