The quest to unravel the mystery of dark matter was a central focus at a recent New Scientist Live event, highlighted by a captivating talk from Professor Chamkaur Ghag and an interactive exhibit showcasing the UK's role in this global scientific endeavour.
Ghag Details LZ and Future XLZD Project
Professor Ghag, an astroparticle physicist from University College London and former spokesperson for the groundbreaking LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment spoke on the Universe Stage to an engaged audience of a thousand visitors to New Scientist Live. His presentation, titled "The search for dark matter in the Milky Way," detailed the current state of the LZ experiment, which is the world's most sensitive search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) and operates a mile underground in South Dakota, USA.
Crucially, Prof. Ghag also looked to the future, discussing the ambitious XLZD project. This next-generation detector, which would contain up to 80 tonnes of liquid xenon, is being planned to take the search for dark matter to unprecedented levels of sensitivity, reaching the so-called "neutrino fog." He highlighted the efforts to potentially host this transformative experiment at the Boulby Underground Laboratory in the UK.
Boulby Laboratory and XLZD Exhibit
The excitement extended to the exhibition floor, where the "Underground Dark Matter Searches UK" stand (N30) offered visitors a hands-on experience. The exhibit, which featured the work of the Boulby Underground Laboratory and the plans for the XLZD experiment, invited attendees to "be transported a mile underground."
The display included models and information explaining why dark matter searches are conducted deep beneath the Earth's surface—to shield the detectors from cosmic rays. Visitors could step into a life-sized detector replica, see real data signals from the LZ experiment, and learn how the UK consortium is championing the development of XLZD, which aims to further our understanding of the universe's most abundant, yet elusive, matter. UCL’s XLZD Project lead, Dr Amy Cottle, Postdoctoral Researchers Dr Ferdos Dastgiri and Dr Aiham Al Musalhi, and Doctoral Researchers Simran Dave and Issy Darlington, were part of the small UK team staffing the stand and engaging several thousands of visitors, including school tours, over the 3 days at New Scientist Live.
New Scientist Live Podcast
A special live recording of The World, Universe, and Us Podcast took place at New Scientist Live, with Prof Ghag joining fellow scientists to discuss the dark matter searches with LZ and XLZD, as well as the neuroscience of reality and the folklore of geoscience.