Speaker: Aaron Manalaysay (LBNL) – Title: Who ordered that? An anomalous event in a search for high-energy nuclear recoils in LZ
September 10 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Research Progress Meeting
Date: September 10, 2026
Time: 4:00- 5:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room- 50A-5132 (Hybrid)
Speaker: Aaron Manalaysay (LBNL)
Title: Who ordered that? An anomalous event in a search for high-energy nuclear recoils in LZ
Abstract: The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment (LZ), managed by LBL, employs the world’s most sensitive WIMP dark-matter detector. Seven tonnes of ultra-pure liquid xenon (LXe) are instrumented to detect scintillation and ionization signals from incoming particles, along with two veto detectors to tag background signals. Though typical WIMP searches focus on low-energy interactions of O(1-10 keV), there are viable, generic models in which these low-energy scatters are suppressed, leaving higher energy O(>=100 keV) recoils as the dominant signal from a WIMP scatter. Additionally, background rates are greatly reduced at these high energies compared to at low energies. Analyzing 220 live days of data, we observe one event that is consistent with a 250 keV nuclear recoil, in significant tension with our background models.
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/98854322464?pwd=K2tKUm1VZjRlV1J5RHE3cXdHQzRxdz09
Meeting ID: 988 5432 2464
Passcode: 142239