Lindhard integral equation with binding energy applied to light and charge yields of nuclear recoils in noble liquid detectors

We present a model of the ionization efficiency, or quenching factor, for low-energy nuclear recoils, based on a solution to Lindhard integral equation with binding energy and apply it to the calculation of the relative scintillation efficiency and charge yield for nuclear recoils in noble liquid detectors. The quenching model incorporates a constant average binding energy together with an electronic stopping power proportional to the ion velocity, and is an essential input in an analysis of charge recombination processes to predict the ionization and scintillation yields. Our results are comparable to NEST simulations of LXe and LAr and are in good agreement with available data. These studies are relevant to current and future experiments using noble liquids as targets for neutrino physics and the direct searches for dark matter.