Detector Modeling and Tuning for WIMP Dark Matter Direct Detection in a Dual-Phase Time-Projection Chamber

Dual-Phase Time-Projection Chambers have become the leading technology for WIMP dark matter direct detection experiments. It's crucial that the simulated response of electronic (ER) and nuclear recoils (NR) is properly modeled in order to characterize the expected backgrounds and possible signals. The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) and LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiments utilize The Noble Element Simulation Technique (NEST) to produce signal and background models, as NEST provides an efficient and accurate simulation package for modeling energy depositions in liquid and gaseous xenon.

LUX was able to tune NEST and the simulated detector model to accurately parameterize the ER and NR response from calibration and background data in order to perform a WIMP search out to high energies. With LZ science results expected in 2022, such detector modeling will be crucial for matching the response of calibration data and verifying new results. In this work, we present the results of a robust tuning methodology for LUX and LZ for direct detection WIMP analyses, including Effective Field Theory WIMP analyses that extend to higher energies than a typical WIMP search.