AbstractIn this work, a first cryogenic characterization of a scintillating $$\hbox {LiAlO}_{2}$$
LiAlO
2
single crystal is presented. The results achieved show that this material holds great potential as a target for direct dark matter search experiments. Three different detector modules obtained from one crystal grown at the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) have been tested to study different properties at cryogenic temperatures. Firstly, two 2.8 g twin crystals were used to build different detector modules which were operated in an above-ground laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) in Munich, Germany. The first detector module was used to study the scintillation properties of $$\hbox {LiAlO}_{2}$$
LiAlO
2
at cryogenic temperatures. The second achieved an energy threshold of ($$213.02\pm 1.48$$
213.02
±
1.48
) eV which allows setting a competitive limit on the spin-dependent dark matter particle-proton scattering cross section for dark matter particle masses between $$350\,\hbox {MeV/c}^{2}$$
350
MeV/c
2
and $$1.50\,\hbox {GeV/c}^{2}$$
1.50
GeV/c
2
. Secondly, a detector module with a 373 g $$\hbox {LiAlO}_{2}$$
LiAlO
2
crystal as the main absorber was tested in an underground facility at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS): from this measurement it was possible to determine the radiopurity of the crystal and study the feasibility of using this material as a neutron flux monitor for low-background experiments.
Characterization of the DIMS system based on astronomical meteor techniques for macroscopic dark matter search
