The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter detector is already considered the most sensitive detector in the search for elusive dark matter, and now it's even more accurate due to a new set of calibration techniques designed by LUX scientists, according to Phys.org.
"We have improved the sensitivity of LUX by more than a factor of 20 for low-mass dark matter particles, significantly enhancing our ability to look for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs)," said Rick Gaitskell, co-spokesperson for the LUX experiment. "It is vital that we continue to push the capabilities of our detector in the search for the elusive dark matter particles."
LUX researchers are currently looking for WIMPs due to the fact that they are the leading candidates for dark matter detection, and this new set of calibration techniques will help scientists in their search for them, according to UC Berkeley.
"We look for WIMPs produced in the Big Bang that are still around, up to very high masses - we have the best sensitivity of any experiment to date for WIMP masses above four times that of a proton," said Daniel McKinsey, second co-spokesperson for the LUX experiment. "We haven't yet observed dark matter interactions, but the search goes on."
Despite being the most dominant form of matter in the universe, dark matter is currently invisible to current forms of detection and was discovered due to its gravitational influence on the rotation of galaxies.
Although LUX has yet to detect a dark matter signal, its increased sensitivity has allowed scientists to rule out large ranges where their particles may exist, according to Imperial College London.
