Simulations of the nuclear recoil head–tail signature in gases relevant to directional dark matter searches

We present the first detailed simulations of the so-called head–tail effect of nuclear recoils in gas, the presence of which is vital to directional WIMP dark matter searches. We include comparison simulations of the range and straggling of carbon, sulphur and fluorine recoils in low pressure gas. However, the prime focus is a detailed investigation of carbon and sulphur recoils in 40 Torr negative ion carbon disulfide, a gas proposed for use in large scale directional detectors. The focus is to determine whether the location of the majority of the ionization charge released and observed from a recoil track in carbon disulfide is at the beginning (tail) of the track, at the end (head) or evenly distributed. We used the SRIM simulation program, together with a purpose-written Monte Carlo generator to model production of ionizing pairs, diffusion and basic readout geometries relevant to potential real detector scenarios, such as under development for the DRIFT experiment. The results indicate the likely existence of a head–tail track asymmetry but with a magnitude critically influenced by several competing factors, notably the W-value assumed, the drift distance and diffusion, and the recoil energy.