Cold dark matter identification: Diurnal modulation reexamined

We report on new estimates of the modulation expected in semiconductor detectors due to the eclipsing of dark matter particles in the Earth. We reevaluate the theoretical modulation significances and discuss the differences found with previous calculations. We find that a significantly larger statistics than previously estimated is needed to achieve the same level of sensitivity in the modulated signal. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}