https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-026-15411-x
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Characterization of the Li
WO
crystal as a cryogenic scintillating calorimeter
1
INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, 67100, Assergi, L’Aquila, Italy
2
Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e Chimiche, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy
3
Gran Sasso Science Institute, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy
4
INFN-Sezione di Milano-Bicocca, 20126, Milan, Italy
5
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 20126, Milan, Italy
6
Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, SB RAS, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia
7
Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405, Orsay, France
8
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Nazarbayev University, 010000, Astana, Kazakhstan
9
Physik-Institut, University of Zürich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
a
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b
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c
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Received:
29
October
2025
Accepted:
6
February
2026
Published online:
26
February
2026
Abstract
A wide range of scintillating bolometers are under investigation for applications in the search for rare events and processes beyond the Standard Model. In this work, we report the first measurement of a natural, non-molybdenum-doped, lithium tungstate (LiWO) crystal operated underground as a scintillating cryogenic calorimeter. The detector achieved a baseline energy resolution of 0.5 keV RMS with a low-energy threshold of about 1.5 keV. The simultaneous readout of heat and light enabled particle identification, revealing a clear separation between 
and nuclear recoil populations above 300 keV, with a light-yield-based particle discrimination better than 
These results, fully comparable with those achieved with other compounds in the field, demonstrate that LiWO is a promising candidate for rare-event searches. In particular, the combination of excellent radio-purity (with U/Th levels below 0.5 mBq/kg) and sensitivity to neutron interactions via the 
Li(n,
H reaction makes this material an attractive option for next-generation experiments in dark matter, coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering, and spin-dependent interactions.
Present address: Physik-Institut, University of Zürich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
© The Author(s) 2026
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Funded by SCOAP3.
