Collaborate Disseminate
Despite making up 85% of the total mass in the universe, dark matter has remained elusive to direct detection. A new study proposes a unique way to look for it using the Earth’s atmosphere as a giant detector for dark matter particles streaming through… Continue reading Dark matter “meteors” could be streaking through Earth’s atmosphere
The first dark matter detector in the Southern Hemisphere has been officially opened. The Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) is built in a disused gold mine in Australia, and the aim is to use its unique position on the globe to finally pick… Continue reading Australian dark matter detector joins the hunt with unique advantage
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson, a true “Holy Grail” of science that had eluded detection for almost 50 years. But what exactly is this particle, and why is it so important? What has it taught us in the decade … Continue reading A brief history of the Higgs boson, the Holy Grail of physics
The world’s most sensitive dark matter detector is up and running, ready to tackle one of the most perplexing mysteries of the universe. With a sensitivity at least 50 times greater than its predecessors, the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment is lurking quiet… Continue reading World’s most sensitive dark matter detector joins the hunt for WIMPs
Although it should be extremely common in the universe, dark matter has proven tricky to detect. Now researchers have proposed an intriguing new method to spot it – looking for shock waves as dark matter “asteroids” collide with stars.Continue ReadingC… Continue reading “Dark matter asteroids” could be spotted colliding with stars
Dark matter is one of the most puzzling mysteries of science, with a huge range of suspects being investigated. In a new study, astronomers have searched for clouds of hypothetical, ultralight particles that could congregate around black holes, and mak… Continue reading Gravitational waves could reveal dark matter clouds around black holes
Dark matter is a core component of the universe, but how did we end up with exactly the amount needed to hold the universe together? Physicists have proposed a new mechanism where dark matter particles in the early universe converted regular matter int… Continue reading How the universe’s expansion may have stopped dark matter taking over
A new “bathtub” experiment has allowed physicists to measure the lifetime of a free neutron far more precisely than ever before. The breakthrough could help probe the fringes of the Standard Model of particle physics, as well as mysteries like dark mat… Continue reading How a really cold bath can help unravel the mysteries of the cosmos
Last year, physicists reported that an experimental dark matter detector picked up a strange signal that could hint at new physics, with several suspects highlighted. Now, Cambridge scientists have proposed an answer that wasn’t considered at the time … Continue reading Dark matter detector may have accidentally detected dark energy instead
A new type of gravitational wave detector running in Western Australia has recorded two rare events that might be signals of dark matter or primordial black holes. These high-frequency gravitational waves are beyond the range of most detectors and have… Continue reading Never-before-detected gravitational waves hint at dark matter