Abstract:

I will discuss efforts to directly detect interactions of galactic dark matter particles, with a focus on dual phase liquid xenon detector technology. First results from the 300 kg LUX experiment are expected before the end of 2013, placing LUX at the state of the art sensitivity over much of the mass range expected for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). I will discuss the Achilles' Heel of this very successful detector technology, the nuclear recoil energy scale, and plans to address it. LUX was designed to detect WIMPs, and while the WIMP hypothesis is very compelling, it is not the only possibility. I will describe efforts to adapt liquid xenon detector technology to search for dark matter particles with non-weak scale masses, via "non-standard" detection techniques. Finally, I will discuss what we can expect from next-generation experiments such as LZ.