Welcome to UCL Dark Matter
The UCL Dark Matter group conducts research at the forefront of astroparticle physics, with the ultimate goal of discovering the nature of dark matter. We play leading roles in the most sensitive underground experiments in the world, as well as leading research with innovative cutting-edge quantum sensors that reach the very edge of quantum noise limits.
Core Research Areas
- LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ): The world’s leading experimental search for galactic dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), operating 1 mile underground in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
- XLZD: The next-generation and definitive WIMP search that also probes alternative dark matter models, exotic neutrino signals, and rare processes beyond the Standard Model inaccessible anywhere else.
- Quantum Sensors: We’re developing highly-sensitive searches for ultra-light dark matter and rare-physics processes using opto-mechanically levitated nano-spheres with unique directional capabilities in collaboration with UCL’s AMOPP Group.
- Low-background Facilities: We are pioneering state-of-the-art radio-purity infrastructure at national laboratories in the UK, developing gamma spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, radon emanation and plate-out facilities, necessary for the construction of any rare-event search experiment.
Why It Matters
Dark Matter: Our work directly probes the standard cosmological model ΛCDM which predicts that dark matter constitutes 85% of all matter in the universe. Direct observation of galactic dark matter would profoundly impact our understanding of cosmology, as well as give us tangible evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model.
Contact Us
For all enquiries, contact:
We especially welcome inquiries from prospective PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and potential fellowship candidates with interests in dark matter related to:
- Detector development
- Background modelling
- Data analysis
- Monte Carlo simulations
- Statistical inference
- Calibrations
- Low-background techniques