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🇮🇸 Iceland /Health & Science

Possible Breakthrough in the Search for Dark Matter

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

Translated from Icelandic and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Researchers using the LUX-ZEPLIN detector in South Dakota recorded one particle interaction that could be linked to dark matter.
  • The result reached 2.6 sigma, below the five-sigma standard generally used to claim a scientific discovery.
  • Scientists say the signal is interesting but caution that further research could show it has another explanation.

Scientists may have moved closer to detecting dark matter, a substance thought to make up more than 85% of the universe’s matter. They stress, however, that the result remains unconfirmed and has not yet undergone independent peer review.

The finding emerged from a two-year search involving researchers from the University of Bristol. The team analyzed data from LUX-ZEPLIN, one of the world’s most sensitive dark-matter detectors, located nearly 1.5 kilometers underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota.

This could be the first step toward understanding dark matter as a particle.

— Sam EriksenThe Bristol physicist describes the possible significance of the interaction while warning that it may not be linked to dark matter.

About 250 scientists and engineers from 39 institutions in six countries examined the data. The detector uses highly sensitive light sensors to identify particle interactions. The team found one interaction involving an unknown particle that could have been caused by a WIMP, a particle long considered a possible component of dark matter.

With only one event, we do not want to get ahead of ourselves.

— Rick GaitskellThe Brown University professor cautions against treating the result as a discovery.

Dark matter has been inferred from its effects on other matter in the universe, but it does not reflect light and has never been directly detected. Researchers say they worked extensively to determine whether known explanations could account for the unusual interaction, but none has so far provided a convincing explanation.

The statistical significance of the result was 2.6 sigma. Scientists generally require five sigma before calling a result a discovery. “With only one event, we do not want to get ahead of ourselves,” said Brown University professor Rick Gaitskell. “We are not claiming that we have seen dark matter. But we have seen something interesting that we want to share with the scientific community and get its views on.” The results were presented at a conference in Japan on Tuesday.

We are not claiming that we have seen dark matter. But we have seen something interesting that we want to share with the scientific community and get its views on.

— Rick GaitskellGaitskell explains the team’s cautious interpretation of the signal.
About this summary

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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