Three researchers at the University of Alabama are taking part in an ambitious project that hopes to, for the first time, detect the existence of dark matter. The three are just one group of more than a hundred researchers from multiple states and countries embarking on the effort.
The Department of Energy-funded Lux-Zepelin project aims to build a large detection device a mile underground in South Dakota. The device will look to observe and measure collisions between dark matter particles and the nuclei of a material called xenon. Those collisions have yet to be detected by scientists.
One challenge of the project is to reduce interference from radioactivity. That way, if a detection occurs, the researchers can say with more confidence that what they record is in fact the discovery of dark matter. That is one of of the challenges the UA researches are undertaking as they test for materials with the lowest amounts of radioactivity possible, something they have a background in.
Another task they're involved with is simply analyzing the staggering amount of data that will be coming in. The three will be involved with the project throughout.
You can hear a full conference call with the researchers by clicking the audio above. They are Dr. Jerry Busenitz, Dr. Andreas Piepke, and Dr. Ion Stancu.
The University of Alabama News has much more about the project here.