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Xenon is an especially attractive candidate for both direct WIMP and neutrino-less double beta decay (0-n bb) searches. Although the current trend has exploited the liquid phase, gas phase xenon offers some remarkable performance advantages for energy resolution, topology visualization, discrimination between electron and nuclear recoils, and, possibly, directional sensitivity to nuclear recoils. I will describe recent results with small prototypes, indicating that NEXT-100 may obtain about 0.5% FWHM energy resolution at the decay 2457.83 keV Q-value, as well as rejection of gamma-rays by topology.
However, sensitivity goals for WIMP dark matter and 0-n bb decay searches indicate the need for ton-scale active masses; NEXT-100 provides the springboard to reach this scale with xenon gas. I describe a scenario for performing both searches in a single high-pressure ton-scale xenon gas detector, without significant compromise to either. In addition, – even in a single, ton-scale, high-pressure xenon gas TPC, an intrinsic sensitivity to the nuclear recoil direction may exist – plausibly offering an advance of more than three orders of magnitude relative to current low-pressure TPC concepts.