Simulation and Measurement of Quenching and Channeling Effects in CsI(Tl) for Dark Matter Search

In order to understand the scintillation characteristics of nuclear recoil events in CsI(Tl) crystals and for application to the analysis of Dark Matter (DM) searches, we study quenching and channeling effects with simulations of recoil ion motion in CsI(Tl) and experiments using neutrons impinging on the crystal. The electronic energy loss versus penetration depth of recoil ions in a CsI(Tl) target are simulated by the SRIM and MARLOWE programs and modified by the application of a measured scintillation efficiency function. They are used to produce quenching factors as a function of recoil energy. The application of the MARLOWE code to a monocrystalline target yields a light yield distribution including tails which are correlated with ions' enhanced ranges. The 2.4 MeV pulsed neutrons impinging on a monocrystalline CsI(Tl) target and an array of neutron detectors located at different scattering angles are used to measure the light yield distribution and the status of the measurement is reported.