Dark matter searches (a survey of-)

[marcus]

this just out: a survey of efforts to detect DM particles.

http://arxiv.org/abs/0705.3345
Direct Dark Matter Searches
N. J. Spooner
Submitted to JPSJ, 20 pages, 5 figures

"For many working in particle physics and cosmology successful discovery and characterisation of the new particles that most likely explain the non-baryonic cold dark matter, known to comprise the majority of matter in the Universe, would be the most significant advance in physics for a century. Reviewed here is the current status of direct searches for such particles, in particular the so-called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), together with a brief overview of the possible future direction of the field extrapolated from recent advances. Current best limits are at or below 10-7 pb for spin-independent neutralino coupling, sufficient that experiments are already probing SUSY models. However, new detectors with tonne-scale mass and/or capability to correlate signal events to our motion through the Galaxy will likely be needed to determine finally whether WIMPs exist."Would anyone care to explain how they can hope to detect dark matter particles, assuming such particles do not interact with other matter?
Oh, I see: weakly interacting. In any case efforts are under way using large containers of liquid noble gas among other contrivances.

 

[Almsco]

The idea is that if a dark matter particle passes through the container it will interact with the gas (as a result of its weakly interacting nature) and create a traceable signal. This signal can then be used to determine the nature of the dark matter particle. There are also many other detection methods, such as those involving cryogenic detectors or bubble chambers. It all depends on the properties of the dark matter particle being detected.