Colloquium: Tuesday May 9, 2017 - 3:00 - 4:00
Room: Tory Building (TB) 238
Speaker: Marie-Cecile Piro
Title: Towards solving the dark matter puzzle and beyond
Abstract :
Understanding the nature of Dark Matter is the Holy Grail for many physicists. While the answer to this fundamental question still eludes the scientific community, it could well result in unique proof of physics beyond the Standard Model. Direct detection searches are currently the most powerful way to solve this long lasting mystery.
Over the last decade, dark matter detection techniques have been improving drastically, pushing the sensitivity to unprecedented levels. These great technical successes have brought new challenges. In particular, the intrinsic experimental background is becoming increasingly important and the purification of the materials used is now crucial. In addition, the "solar neutrino floor", the irreducible background that will limit the next generation of experiments , must be fully studied and understood.
After describing the diverse experimental detection techniques for dark matter, I will present the new challenges we are facing and demonstrate how we can address them to solve some of the great puzzles of physics.