Inside the LUX-ZEPLIN detector. Image courtesy of Matthew Kapust/Sanford Underground Research Laboratory
Joel Kontinen
Most of the
matter in the universe is dark matter, but for decades physicists haven’t been
able to directly observe it – that may have just changed.
Some researchers think that dark matter does not exist. Some think that it does.
Researchers
may have spotted the first signs of a dark matter particle. If the result is
confirmed, it could be one of the most monumental discoveries in the history of
physics.
Dark matter makes up about 85 per cent of
the universe, but for decades physicists have been unable to determine what it
itself is made of. Hypotheses have ranged from different sorts of particles and
forces to strangely-behaving gravity and everything in between – but the
leading idea has always been that of the weakly-interacting massive particle,
or WIMP. As we have built more and more powerful detectors to search for WIMPs,
though, their failure to show up has led many to doubt their existence and move
on to more exotic ideas.
Source:
Leah Crane 2026
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