Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter 2026 Proceedings
Abstract
The fourth "Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter" (MDvDM'26) meeting was held April 14-17, 2026 in Karlsruhe, Germany, hosted by the Institute for Astroparticle Physics (IAP) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). These proceedings detail the contributions that were presented during MDvDM'26, illustrating the unprecedented progress in theoretical, computational and experimental studies towards the realization of the concept of mineral detectors. Mineral detectors represent an emerging particle detection concept that has risen in prominence in recent years due to the advent of modern computational and high-resolution microscopy techniques. Natural and synthetic crystals are capable of retaining microscopic damage features induced by nuclear recoils, which could be then read out with a variety of micrometer and nanometer resolution microscopy techniques. On laboratory time scales mineral detectors could be employed for reactor neutrino monitoring and dark matter detection, with the potential to measure the directions as well as the energies of the induced nuclear recoils. Uniquely, ancient natural crystals (so-called paleo-detectors) that have been recording nuclear recoils over geological timescales could be used for studying astrophysical neutrinos, cosmic rays, dark matter and heavy exotic particles, as well as the variation of their fluxes over our Galaxy's lifetime. In recent years the international MDvDM community has been successfully tackling the challenges associated with realizing the concept of mineral detectors, opening the pathway towards a fully fledged experimental program and potential future discoveries.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{elykov2026mineral,
title = {{Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter 2026 Proceedings}},
author = {Alexey Elykov and Patrick Stengel and Natsue Abe and Daniel Ang and Lorenzo Apollonio and Levente Balogh and Laura Baudis and Chinmay Bharathulwar and Priyanshu Bhattacharya and Yilda Boukhtouchen and Joseph Bramante and Vincent Breton and Andrew Buchanan and Jens Burkhart and Lorenzo Caccianiga and Andrew Calabrese-Day and Mason Camp and Jordan Chapman and Anson Cook and Reza Ebadi and Denis Erkal and Katherine Freese and Audrey Fung and Shota Futamura and Claudio Galelli and Kevin Gao and Peter W. Graham and Thomas Haddock and Minako Hashiguchi and Alexander Hayes and Adam A. Hecht and Samuel C. Hedges and Shigenobu Hirose and Luisa M. Hötzsch and Patrick Huber and Yohei Igami and Vsevolod Ivanov and Florian Jörg and Ayuki Kamada and Takenori Kato and Yoji Kawamura and Katharina Kehl and Chris Kelso and Holger Kluck and Emilie M. LaVoie-Ingram and Matthew Leybourne and Gavishta H. M. Liyanage and Thalles Lucas and Brenden A. Magill and Paolo Magnani and Jennika McIntosh and Naoki Mizutani and Kohta Murase and Tatsuhiro Naka and Lina Necib and Pranav Parvathaneni and Andre Peterson and Zachary S. C. Picker and Rabeya Rabu and Harikrishnan Ramani},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.20552},
eprint = {2609.20552},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20552},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter 2026 Proceedings
AU - Alexey Elykov
AU - Patrick Stengel
AU - Natsue Abe
AU - Daniel Ang
AU - Lorenzo Apollonio
AU - Levente Balogh
AU - Laura Baudis
AU - Chinmay Bharathulwar
AU - Priyanshu Bhattacharya
AU - Yilda Boukhtouchen
AU - Joseph Bramante
AU - Vincent Breton
AU - Andrew Buchanan
AU - Jens Burkhart
AU - Lorenzo Caccianiga
AU - Andrew Calabrese-Day
AU - Mason Camp
AU - Jordan Chapman
AU - Anson Cook
AU - Reza Ebadi
AU - Denis Erkal
AU - Katherine Freese
AU - Audrey Fung
AU - Shota Futamura
AU - Claudio Galelli
AU - Kevin Gao
AU - Peter W. Graham
AU - Thomas Haddock
AU - Minako Hashiguchi
AU - Alexander Hayes
AU - Adam A. Hecht
AU - Samuel C. Hedges
AU - Shigenobu Hirose
AU - Luisa M. Hötzsch
AU - Patrick Huber
AU - Yohei Igami
AU - Vsevolod Ivanov
AU - Florian Jörg
AU - Ayuki Kamada
AU - Takenori Kato
AU - Yoji Kawamura
AU - Katharina Kehl
AU - Chris Kelso
AU - Holger Kluck
AU - Emilie M. LaVoie-Ingram
AU - Matthew Leybourne
AU - Gavishta H. M. Liyanage
AU - Thalles Lucas
AU - Brenden A. Magill
AU - Paolo Magnani
AU - Jennika McIntosh
AU - Naoki Mizutani
AU - Kohta Murase
AU - Tatsuhiro Naka
AU - Lina Necib
AU - Pranav Parvathaneni
AU - Andre Peterson
AU - Zachary S. C. Picker
AU - Rabeya Rabu
AU - Harikrishnan Ramani
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.20552
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20552
AB - The fourth "Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter" (MDvDM'26) meeting was held April 14-17, 2026 in Karlsruhe, Germany, hosted by the Institute for Astroparticle Physics (IAP) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). These proceedings detail the contributions that were presented during MDvDM'26, illustrating the unprecedented progress in theoretical, computational and experimental studies towards the realization of the concept of mineral detectors. Mineral detectors represent an emerging particle detection concept that has risen in prominence in recent years due to the advent of modern computational and high-resolution microscopy techniques. Natural and synthetic crystals are capable of retaining microscopic damage features induced by nuclear recoils, which could be then read out with a variety of micrometer and nanometer resolution microscopy techniques. On laboratory time scales mineral detectors could be employed for reactor neutrino monitoring and dark matter detection, with the potential to measure the directions as well as the energies of the induced nuclear recoils. Uniquely, ancient natural crystals (so-called paleo-detectors) that have been recording nuclear recoils over geological timescales could be used for studying astrophysical neutrinos, cosmic rays, dark matter and heavy exotic particles, as well as the variation of their fluxes over our Galaxy's lifetime. In recent years the international MDvDM community has been successfully tackling the challenges associated with realizing the concept of mineral detectors, opening the pathway towards a fully fledged experimental program and potential future discoveries.
ER -