{
  "abstract": "The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment has recently reported a nuclear-recoil candidate at $E_R=248\\pm23_{\\rm stat}\\pm23_{\\rm sys}\\,{\\rm keV}$ in an exposure of $2.84\\,{\\rm tonne\\,yr}$. At this unusually high recoil energy, the spin-independent (SI) xenon response is strongly suppressed, motivating dark matter interactions with a harder recoil spectrum. We show that elastic spin-dependent (SD) scattering through the nonrelativistic operator $\\mathcal O_4=\\mathbf S_{\\rm DM}\\cdot\\mathbf S_N$ provides a simple realization of such a spectrum. We consider singlet-doublet Majorana dark matter, for which a diagonal $Z$ coupling generates the required SD interaction. The accompanying Higgs-mediated SI interaction would generically produce too many low-energy recoils, but can be suppressed along a Higgs blind spot while retaining a nonzero $Z$ coupling. We find a region of the Higgs blind spot that simultaneously predicts an $\\mathcal O(1)$ event rate in the LZ high-recoil window and reproduces the observed thermal relic abundance. The same SD interaction leads to solar capture, allowing this region to be tested independently with solar-neutrino searches. Current IceCube limits already probe part of the LZ-compatible thermal parameter space, while a viable region remains. Additional xenon exposure and improved solar-neutrino searches can therefore provide complementary tests of this interpretation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "PRISMA ++ Cluster of Excellence & Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics , Johannes Gutenberg University , 55099 Mainz , Germany"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.08993",
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Fatemeh Elahi",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1300-5172"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Pedro Schwaller",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6307-3069"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/038m0wsc8ppaz.bib",
  "cited_by": 27,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.08993",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "038m0wsc8ppaz",
  "issns": [
    "2331-8422"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.08993",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.CO"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ex"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3106|Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212015296",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.08993",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-08",
  "publisher": "Cornell University",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/038m0wsc8ppaz.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:26:45Z",
      "native_id": "2609.08993",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.08993"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T13:20:45Z",
      "native_id": "W7212015296",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.08993"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.CO",
      "subfield": "cosmology"
    },
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ex",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A Vector-Like Lepton Interpretation of the High-Energy Nuclear Recoil Candidate in LUX-ZEPLIN",
  "title_text": "A Vector-Like Lepton Interpretation of the High-Energy Nuclear Recoil Candidate in LUX-ZEPLIN",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T13:20:45Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/038m0wsc8ppaz",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}