In the search for dark matter, scientists in the UK have started to build the world’s largest and most advanced rare-particle detector. This instrument aims to detect elusive dark matter particles, which make up roughly 85% of the universe’s mass but remain undetected.
Researchers at Imperial College London, working in collaboration with the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Boulby Underground Laboratory, are leading the development of this edge detector. As part of the global Xenon Lux-Zeplin Darwin (XLZD) Consortium, the team is aiming to revolutionize the search for dark matter and new physics phenomena.
Professor Sean Paling, Director and Senior Scientist at Boulby Underground Laboratory said: “To discover, or even be able to rule out the existence of dark matter, will be an enormous leap for science and transform our understanding of the cosmos.”
The new detector is expected to surpass its predecessor, the LZ experiment, by being ten times larger, dramatically increasing its sensitivity to potential dark matter particles. With this enhanced size and precision, the likelihood of detecting rare interactions between dark matter particles and ordinary matter is significantly improved.
“It will allow for a definitive search for the interactions of dark matter particles with masses above a few protons, and also for evidence of particle decays that could help explain why the universe seems to contain ordinary matter but little antimatter,” a press release from the project stated.
The design of the detector will resemble a massive underground “thermos flask,” containing up to 100 tons of liquid xenon. As dark matter particles pass through the Earth, researchers anticipate occasional interactions with the xenon, producing faint flashes of light. These flashes, though tiny, will be detectable and serve as crucial evidence of dark matter’s presence.
“Tiny, but detectable, flashes of light will be generated as evidence of the presence of dark matter particles and recorded for scientists to analyze,” according to the research team.
“We are now closer than ever to achieving this and as long as we can come together as an international community, invest in the right instruments, and remain focused on our search, there are potential big breakthroughs just around the corner,” Professor Paling said.
Although the final location for the experiment has not yet been decided, UK universities and the Boulby Underground Laboratory are laying the groundwork. The team at STFC is in the process of developing a new underground science facility at the Boulby mine, which may serve as the future home of the XLZD detector.
This facility will be constructed in two phases: first, a clean manufacturing facility at 3,600 feet (1,100 meters) depth, followed by a large laboratory hall at approximately 4,300 feet (1,300 meters) depth to house the detector.
