Material-Dependent Dominant Excitation Channels in Sub-GeV Dark Matter Detection: A Comparative Multi-Channel Study of Si, GaAs, and NiO

Material-Dependent Dominant Excitation Channels in Sub-GeV Dark Matter Detection: A Comparative Multi-Channel Study of Si, GaAs, and NiO | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Material-Dependent Dominant Excitation Channels in Sub-GeV Dark Matter Detection: A Comparative Multi-Channel Study of Si, GaAs, and NiO M.A.M. Sharaf This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9461714/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter requires target systems capable of converting very small deposited energies into observable low-energy excitations. In this work, we develop a comparative material-dependent framework for sub-GeV dark matter detection in three representative condensed-matter targets: silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and nickel oxide (NiO). The analysis is formulated within a unified multi-channel response model that incorporates electronic, phononic, and magnonic contributions under a common set of dark matter assumptions, allowing the role of intrinsic material properties to be examined systematically. By decomposing the total response of each material into channel-resolved contributions and introducing normalized fractional measures together with a dominant-channel criterion, we identify the excitation mechanism that governs the observable signal in each target. The numerical results reveal a clear and robust separation of excitation pathways across the considered sub-GeV mass interval. Silicon is found to be overwhelmingly dominated by electronic excitations, GaAs by phonon excitations, and NiO by magnon excitations, with the dominant channel accounting for nearly the full response in each case. The total-rate comparison further exhibits a stable material hierarchy, with NiO producing the largest response, followed by Si and then GaAs, throughout the scanned mass range. These findings show that the dominant detection mechanism is fundamentally material-dependent rather than being determined by dark matter kinematics alone. The results therefore support a classification of condensed-matter targets according to their preferred excitation signature and indicate that sub-GeV dark matter searches are more naturally viewed in terms of complementary material-specialized probes than a single universally optimal detector. This framework provides a physically transparent basis for designing multi-target detection strategies that combine semiconducting, polar, and magnetic materials to broaden sensitivity to low-energy dark matter interactions. Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Physics Sub-GeV dark matter Light dark matter detection Material-dependent detection Multi-channel response Electronic excitations Phonon excitations Magnon excitations Condensed matter detectors Silicon Gallium arsenide Nickel oxide Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 23 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 19 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9461714","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":631419643,"identity":"d80ba99b-c61f-433c-90ad-7e769da56a09","order_by":0,"name":"M.A.M. 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In this work, we develop a comparative material-dependent framework for sub-GeV dark matter detection in three representative condensed-matter targets: silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and nickel oxide (NiO). The analysis is formulated within a unified multi-channel response model that incorporates electronic, phononic, and magnonic contributions under a common set of dark matter assumptions, allowing the role of intrinsic material properties to be examined systematically.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy decomposing the total response of each material into channel-resolved contributions and introducing normalized fractional measures together with a dominant-channel criterion, we identify the excitation mechanism that governs the observable signal in each target. The numerical results reveal a clear and robust separation of excitation pathways across the considered sub-GeV mass interval. Silicon is found to be overwhelmingly dominated by electronic excitations, GaAs by phonon excitations, and NiO by magnon excitations, with the dominant channel accounting for nearly the full response in each case. The total-rate comparison further exhibits a stable material hierarchy, with NiO producing the largest response, followed by Si and then GaAs, throughout the scanned mass range.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese findings show that the dominant detection mechanism is fundamentally material-dependent rather than being determined by dark matter kinematics alone. The results therefore support a classification of condensed-matter targets according to their preferred excitation signature and indicate that sub-GeV dark matter searches are more naturally viewed in terms of complementary material-specialized probes than a single universally optimal detector. This framework provides a physically transparent basis for designing multi-target detection strategies that combine semiconducting, polar, and magnetic materials to broaden sensitivity to low-energy dark matter interactions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Material-Dependent Dominant Excitation Channels in Sub-GeV Dark Matter Detection: A Comparative Multi-Channel Study of Si, GaAs, and NiO","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-11 05:04:22","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9461714/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-13T04:56:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-13T03:23:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-11T03:00:37+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-02T13:32:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"26214867731015442897458820515544478037","date":"2026-04-29T03:04:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"272482063179389457274156486174064715851","date":"2026-04-28T15:22:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"201779178369327714722687044057393715823","date":"2026-04-27T14:17:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-27T14:03:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-23T07:36:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T13:35:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T13:34:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-04-19T11:29:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"964488e2-0630-47cd-b445-11ee21774d36","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 11th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-13T04:56:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-13T03:23:18+00:00","index":67,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-11T03:00:37+00:00","index":65,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-02T13:32:09+00:00","index":64,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":67204331,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"},{"id":67204332,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-15T09:55:45+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-11 05:04:22","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9461714","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9461714","identity":"rs-9461714","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}