Discriminating Dark Matter from Neutrinos

Several experiments across the globe are poised to detect the possible sign of a dark matter particle colliding with a nucleus. These dark matter searches can also potentially record collisions of neutrinos from the Sun and other astrophysical sources. This neutrino background could become a confounding factor in next-generation dark matter experiments. But a new theoretical analysis by Julien Billard of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and his colleagues suggests how to discriminate signals from neutrinos and dark matter by using multiple types of detector materials.