Stretching the WIMP paradigm: Direct detection techniques for light-weight WIMPs.

A review of the current technologies for reducing the energy threshold of direct detection dark matter experiments. The goal of this field over the next decade is to reach the neutrino floor in all mass ranges, but doing so for masses less than a GeV/c2 is not only hard, but also stretches the definition of the WIMP candidate. Both established experiments and dedicated low-mass searches are discovering new methods for discriminating and reducing backgrounds. This effort, coupled with lower energy thresholds, are making inroads in this difficult region.