Thursday, November 17, 2016, 16:00
WBGB/019
Laura Baudis, Zurich University
Abstract:
Cosmological observations and the dynamics of the Milky Way provide
strong evidence for an invisible and dominant mass component, that so
far reveals its presence only by its gravitational interaction. If the
dark matter is made of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), it
can be directly detected via elastic scattering from nuclei in ultra-low
background, deep-underground detectors. WIMPs arise naturally in beyond
standard model theories, a popular example being the neutralino, or the
lightest supersymmetric particle. After an introduction to the direct
dark matter detection method, I will review the current experimental
techniques to search for these hypothetical particles. The focus will be
on recent results, and on the most promising techniques for the future.