{
  "abstract": "The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment recently reported a single event consistent with a nuclear recoil of $E_{\\rm NR}\\sim248\\pm23\\,(\\mathrm{stat})\\pm23\\,(\\mathrm{syst})$~keV in an extended-energy search. We study the accompanying inelastic-xenon channel, $χ+\\Xe\\toχ+\\Xe^{*}$, which provides a complementary test of DM interpretations of such high-recoil events. Using the non-relativistic effective-field-theory (NREFT) framework with shell-model nuclear-transition inputs, we compute the inelastic-xenon rates for representative scenarios including inelastic dark matter and accelerated DM populations. We also simulate their S1--S2 responses, with detector modeling validated against public LZ data. The nuclear de-excitation adds an electromagnetic component shifting the signal toward the electronic-recoil band and, in some cases, toward clustered backgrounds from isotopes. We therefore construct a schematic, physics-motivated background model and perform a simplified statistical analysis. For many benchmarks, the inelastic-xenon rate is $\\mathcal{O}(0.1)$ of the elastic rate or below, suggesting that substantially larger exposures are required before this companion channel becomes observable. Our results illustrate the importance of isotope-induced background structures in the extended-energy region and extend the phenomenology of inelastic-xenon signatures to a wider range of DM scenarios.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical Physics , Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing , Jiangsu 210023 , China",
    "School of Physical Science and Technology , Xinjiang University , Urumqi 830046 , China",
    "Fysikkbygningen , Sem Sælandsvei 24 , N-0371 , Oslo , Norway"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.05291",
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Guanhua Gu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lingfeng Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "S. M. Tang",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-7051-9283"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yongheng Xu",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7094-5534"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4yysy3bwfhxtf.bib",
  "cited_by": 29,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.05291",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4yysy3bwfhxtf",
  "issns": [
    "2331-8422"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05291",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ex"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3106|Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7211978770",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.05291",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-04",
  "publisher": "Cornell University",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4yysy3bwfhxtf.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:14Z",
      "native_id": "2609.05291",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05291"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T13:20:44Z",
      "native_id": "W7211978770",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05291"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ex",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Inelastic from the Other Side: Xenon Excitation Signals in Light of the LZ High-Recoil Event",
  "title_text": "Inelastic from the Other Side: Xenon Excitation Signals in Light of the LZ High-Recoil Event",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T13:20:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4yysy3bwfhxtf",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}