Dark matter directionality approach using ZnWO₄ crystal scintillators

The development of low-background anisotropic detectors can offer a unique way to study those Dark Matter (DM) candidate particles able to induce nuclear recoils through the directionality technique. Among the anisotropic scintillators, the ZnWO ₄ 4 has unique features and is an excellent candidate for the purposes. Both the light output and the scintillation pulse shape depend on the impinging direction of heavy particles with respect to the crystallographic axes and can supply two independent modes to study the directionality and discriminate γ/β γ/β radiation. Measurements to study the anisotropic and scintillation performances of ZnWO _4 4 are reported.