1. Particle Physics Seminar

    "Dark matter search results from the PandaX-I experiment"

    Presented by Mengjiao Xiao, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

    Thursday, May 14, 2015, 3 pm
    Small Seminar Room, Bldg. 510

    Hosted by: Elizabeth Worcester

    The dark matter is a leading candidate to explain gravitational effects observed in galactic rotational curves, galaxy clusters, and the large scale structure formation, etc. The nature of dark matter is one of the most fundamental problems in physics. Proposals of dark matter candidates usually involve new physics and new particles. Among the various candidates, one compelling class of particles are WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles). WIMPs are being studied in colliders, indirect and direct detection experiments. In recent years, new techniques in WIMP direct detection using noble liquids (xenon, argon) have shown exceptional potential due to the capability of background suppression and discrimination, and scalability to large target masses. PandaX is a low threshold dual-phase xenon dark matter experiment operating at the China Jin-Ping Underground Laboratory (CJPL). The PandaX detector is staged. We released the first dark matter search data for PandaX-I on August 2014. In this talk, I will give an introduction to the PandaX-I detector, and then followed by the details of the physics analysis as well as the latest results.