The Migdal effect in a dark-matter-nucleus scattering extends the direct search experiments to the sub-GeV mass region through electron ionization with sub-keV detection thresholds. In this paper, we derive a rigorous and model-independent “Migdal-photoabsorption” relation that links the sub-keV Migdal process to photoabsorption. This relation is free of theoretical uncertainties as it only requires the photoabsorption cross section as the experimental input. Validity of this relation is explicitly checked in the case of xenon with a state-of-the-art atomic calculation that is well benchmarked by experiments. The predictions based on this relation for xenon, argon, semiconductor silicon, and germanium detectors are presented and discussed.

• Received 21 July 2020
• Accepted 4 November 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.102.121303

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Published by the American Physical Society