Advanced quantum detectors are reinventing the search for dark matter
When it comes to understanding the universe, what we know is only a sliver of the whole picture.
General Physics
Jan 6, 2026
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Page 3: Research news on Cosmic ray & astroparticle detectors
Cosmic ray and astroparticle detectors comprise experimental techniques and instrumentation designed to measure high-energy particles and radiation originating from space, including charged cosmic rays, gamma rays, neutrinos, and, indirectly, dark matter candidates. Detection methods exploit diverse physical processes such as ionization (gas chambers, silicon trackers), scintillation (organic and inorganic scintillators), Cherenkov radiation (water/ice Cherenkov, air Cherenkov telescopes), and calorimetry (electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters), often combined in hybrid observatories. These techniques enable reconstruction of particle energy, charge, direction, and composition, support studies of extensive air showers, and underpin astroparticle physics investigations of cosmic accelerators, fundamental interactions at extreme energies, and the high-energy universe’s particle and radiation fields.
Dark matter search narrows as detector sets new limits and spots solar neutrinos
Australian researchers have played a central role in a landmark result from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment in South Dakota—the world's most sensitive dark matter detector. Today, scientists working on the experiment report ...
General Physics
Dec 15, 2025
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Neutrino observatories show promise for detecting light dark matter
Dark matter is an elusive type of matter that does not emit, reflect or absorb light, yet is estimated to account for most of the universe's mass. Over the past decades, many physicists worldwide have been trying to detect ...
Europe's deep-sea telescope on a hunt for the origins of the universe
Below the waves of the Mediterranean, Europe's KM3NeT neutrino telescope is on a cosmic hunt. Towering strings of sensors stretch a kilometer down to the seafloor, arranged in a vast 3D grid.
Astronomy
Oct 24, 2025
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Dark matter detector succeeds in performing measurements with nearly no radioactive interference
In their search for dark matter, scientists from the XENON Collaboration are using one of the world's most sensitive dark matter detectors, XENONnT at the Gran Sasso Laboratory of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics ...
General Physics
Oct 1, 2025
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World's most sensitive detector tightens the net on elusive dark matter
Determining the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up most of the mass in our universe, is one of the greatest puzzles in physics. New results from the world's most sensitive dark matter detector, LUX-ZEPLIN ...
General Physics
Sep 29, 2025
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Monitoring sediment buildup in underwater bridge tunnels with the help of high-energy muons
Over 200 underwater bridge tunnels exist for vehicular traffic around the world, providing connectivity between cities. Once constructed, however, these tunnels are difficult to monitor and maintain, often requiring shutdowns ...
General Physics
Sep 16, 2025
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Upgraded single-photon detector searches for 'light' dark matter
About 80% of the universe's mass is thought to consist of dark matter. Yet, little is known about the composition and structure of the particles that make up dark matter, presenting physicists with some fundamental questions. ...
Astronomy
Sep 9, 2025
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JUNO completes liquid filling and begins taking data to investigate ordering of neutrino masses
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) has successfully completed filling its 20,000-tons liquid scintillator detector and began taking data on Aug. 26.
General Physics
Aug 26, 2025
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Dark Matter Particle Explorer obtains high-precision cosmic-ray boron spectrum
The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE, also known as "Wukong") Collaboration has obtained a high-precision cosmic-ray boron spectrum in the energy range of 10 GeV/n–8 TeV/n, and discovered a spectral "hardening" phenomenon ...
Astronomy
Jul 3, 2025
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