Searching for Dark Matter, the LUX and LZ Experiments - Dan Akerib

Speaker: Dan Akerib, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Dark Matter remains a profound mystery at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. One of the leading candidates, the Weakly Interacting Massive Particle, or WIMP, may be detectable using terrestrial particle detectors. Recent technological advances are enabling very rapid increases in sensitivity in the search for these particles. I will talk about the LUX experiment, a liquid xenon time projection chamber, which currently holds the best upper limit over much of the WIMP mass range. I will also discuss plans for a larger follow up experiment, LZ, which will just begin to measure a background neutrino signal that will set a fundamental limit our ability to search for WIMP dark matter.

[@larrykennedy8867]

This is one of the best SETI talks I've seen.

[@JustOneAsbesto]

Interesting talk. Fantastic speaker. I don't want to be negative or name any names, but a couple of your recent speakers were just utterly unlistenable to me, even though their topics really interested me. On the plus side, they made me really appreciate a very capable speaker like Mr. Akerib on a whole new level.

[@FOWST]

I can't stop thinking about antimatter and vacuum, since both has something to do with dark matter and dark energy. You know... random forces of nature we don't understand yet. I think we understand very little about vacuum, because our 99.99% vacuum we are able to create in laboratories doesn't come close enough to what's out in space.Nobody really knows what forces lurk within larger areas of vacuum. Here's a couple questions, maybe someone can answer: 1) Could vacuum somehow be negative? (less than 0 probability of particles in space) 2) could antimatter emerge from an expanding vacuum or when space is stretched? 3) and wouldn't the opposite of a vacuum somehow push things apart? ("dark energy")

[@PoliticalJohn]

+1 for the use of a corporate logo to advance science!

[@gyro5d]

Blackbody diagrams, Space are opposite your diagrams, Counterspace. Neutrino floor, oscillating Inertial plane above non-oscillating Inertial plane. Inertial plane = "Condensate of Universe". e- Inertial plane p+, >~

[@_brett_7893]

Excellent talk. Anybody else notice that this guy sounds remarkably like Bill Gates?

[@RichardDLewis41]

I would like to propose a dark matter candidate not mentioned in this presentation. The dark matter candidate is neutron groups. A neutron group is a group of two or more neutrons which are bonded together and can be described as an atomic nucleus without the protons and of course no orbital electrons. Such neutron groups would be stable just as neutrons in an atomic nucleus are stable. A single independent neutron will decay into a proton and an electron with a mean lifetime before decay of around 15 minutes. A neutron group does not decay just as a neutron in a nucleus does not normally decay.A neutron group would be invisible an unaffected by light. More about the formation of neutron groups here: www.academia.edu/5009126/The_evolution_of_the_universe Or search Google for: Richard Lewis The Evolution of the Universe

[@iftikharahmad9707]

The neutron group is not experimentally known. we do not have any proof for di-neutron or tetra-neutron although the search is going on. Also if it is found it is very unstable and will decay in a very short time which means it cannot be a dark matter particle because it cannot survive this much long after the big bang. With Regards

[@DavidBrown-om8cv]

"If Newton and Einstein got gravity correct ..." My guess is that there 2 basic possibilities: (1) Newtonian-Einsteinian gravitational theory is 100% correct and the Standard Model of particle physics needs some additions/corrections or (2) Newtonian-Einsteinian gravitational theory needs to be corrected in order to explain Milgrom's Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). Google "witten milgrom", "kroupa dark matter", & "mcgaugh dark matter". PREDICTION: The LISA Pathfinder science team will find a very slight and very puzzling "instrument malfunction" because they have ignored the Fernández-Rañada-Milgrom effect.

[@ricomajestic]

Waste of time!

[@DavidBrown-om8cv]

arxiv.org/abs/1301.3907 "The failures of the standard model of cosmology require a new paradigm" by Kroupa, Pawlowski, & Milgrom, 2013 Google "kroupa milgrom dark matter".

[@rljpdx]

i find it a shame that the lecturer's name is anglicized... obviously it was or close to Al'Karib in obvious reference to middle eastern heritage. I'm sure Dan had nothing to do with it. More likely than not it was either the US government during immigration changed it, or it was possibly changed by his parents to remove possible negative connotations. I could be terribly wrong in which case I do apologize for the off-topicness. One of the perks/disadvantages of minoring in the English language and majoring in the topic at hand...

[@gyro5d]

FLASHES are the perturbations of the Aether field, compressing to the Inertial plane of infinite capacitance. FLASH, so called Photons, Rarefaction. "The smaller the spacial footprint, the higher the capacitance". Watch; The Slow Mo Guys, "Light at 10 trillion FPS". Shows compression of Aether field into the Inertial plane, FLASH, Rarefaction of Aether field. Repeat. Dark matter is in Counterspace. Opposite side of Aether's hyperboloid, matter in Space. Scalable Aether, Casimir Effect Universe! Between Space and Counterspace, the plates. Is the infinite capacitance of the Inertial plane. Attracting and repelling the plates. Neutrinos = oscillating Inertial plane.

[@tolbaszy8067]

Simple: Dark Matter is Consciousness, not necessarily intelligence!

[@d.b.cooper1721]

Hmm no. That would be called Dumb Matter.

[@_John_Sean_Walker]

Bright Dark Matter.