BibTex format
@article{Zhang:2026:epjc/s10052-026-15920-9,
author = {Zhang, X and Wittweg, C and Walkup, K and Vladimirov, N and Surani, S and Stengel, P and Smith, NWG and Morrison, M and Mateos, JM and Magill, BA and Khodaparast, GA and Jovanovic, I and Ivanov, V and Huber, P and Hedges, SC and Hecht, AA and Guerrero, Perez M and Erickson, A and Chapman, J and Bowden, N and Baudis, L and Araujo, GR},
doi = {epjc/s10052-026-15920-9},
journal = {European Physical Journal C},
title = {Nuclear recoil detection with color centers in bulk lithium fluoride},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-026-15920-9},
volume = {86},
year = {2026}
}
RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)
TY - JOUR
AB - We present initial results on the detection of nuclear recoils in lithium fluoride (LiF) through the fluorescence of color centers created by particle interactions in the crystal lattice. Using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy, we image nuclear recoil tracks from both fast and thermal neutron interactions deep within a cubic-centimeter-scale sample. Automated three-dimensional feature extraction based on machine-learning tools enables the identification and classification of individual events. We observe that the fluorescence response of LiF to gamma irradiation is strongly suppressed, by a factor of 30–50 compared to neutron exposure, demonstrating intrinsic insensitivity to electromagnetic backgrounds. The observed and simulated event characteristics are consistent, including their number, size, and topology. These results establish the feasibility of LiF as a scalable detection medium for rare nuclear-recoil events and constitute a first step toward 10–1000 g scale detectors with single-event sensitivity for applications in reactor-neutrino detection, neutron spectroscopy, and dark matter searches.
AU - Zhang,X
AU - Wittweg,C
AU - Walkup,K
AU - Vladimirov,N
AU - Surani,S
AU - Stengel,P
AU - Smith,NWG
AU - Morrison,M
AU - Mateos,JM
AU - Magill,BA
AU - Khodaparast,GA
AU - Jovanovic,I
AU - Ivanov,V
AU - Huber,P
AU - Hedges,SC
AU - Hecht,AA
AU - Guerrero,Perez M
AU - Erickson,A
AU - Chapman,J
AU - Bowden,N
AU - Baudis,L
AU - Araujo,GR
DO - epjc/s10052-026-15920-9
PY - 2026///
SN - 1434-6044
TI - Nuclear recoil detection with color centers in bulk lithium fluoride
T2 - European Physical Journal C
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-026-15920-9
VL - 86
ER -