Scattering of weakly interacting massive particles from Ge 73

We use a “hybrid” method, mixing variationally-determined triaxial nuclear Slater determinants, to calculate the response of 73Ge to hypothetical darkmatter particles such as neutralinos. The method is a hybrid in that rotational invariance is approximately restored prior to variation and then fully restored before the mixing of intrinsic states. We discuss such features of 73Ge as shape coexistence and triaxiality, and their effects on spin-dependent neutralino cross sections. Our calculations yield a satisfactory quadrupole moment and an accurate magnetic moment in this very complicated nucleus, suggesting that the spin structure and thus the axial–vector response to dark matter particles is modeled well