Dark Matter Searches with Sodium Iodide Detectors

The search for the identity of dark matter remains one of the most intriguing challenges in physics today, driving innovative advances in experiment and theory. Thallium-doped sodium iodide (NaI) detectors have played a pivotal role in this context. This review outlines the scientific landscape surrounding NaI detectors, emphasizing their role in the broader context of dark matter research. We begin with a brief description of characteristics that make these detectors well-suited for dark matter detection. We then provide a historical overview and explore results from the DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA experiments, which have reported annual modulation signals consistent with dark matter interactions—a signal that to date no other experiment has replicated. We discuss recent results from NaI-based experiments launched, in part, to resolve this tantalizing anomaly. We conclude with a summary of the status and prospects for current and future NaI-based dark matter searches.