Brown researchers involved with possible first detection of dark matter
Physicists at Brown University are analyzing data from the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment that may provide the first direct evidence of dark matter. The experiment uses a specialized underground detector to identify interactions from hypothetical weakly interacting massive particles.
Why it matters
Confirming the existence of dark matter would fundamentally reshape our understanding of physics and the composition of the universe.
Physicists believe dark matter makes up 85% of the mass of the universe, but despite its theoretical abundance, there is no direct proof that it exists. Now, researchers at Brown are closing in on that sought-for proof.
In the LUX-ZEPLIN, or “LZ,” experiment, researchers at Brown helped analyze data from 2023 and early 2024 containing a signal that could potentially be the first detection of a dark matter particle.
Richard Gaitskell, professor of physics and spokesperson for the LZ experiment, explained that the Sun’s orbit in the Milky Way doesn’t match up with current calculations for the amount of mass and number of stars in the galaxy. He explained that there is not enough mass in the Milky Way to allow our solar system to orbit, and this suggests that something may be missing from the standard model of physics.
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