AAPT Plenary Talk: Dark Matter in the Laboratory

Monday, Feb.16, 11:30AM - 12:30PM

Speaker:Joseph Lykken, Fermilab

Summary:

Most of the universe is dark matter, whose composition is entirely unknown and may involve new forces or principles of nature. Using ultra-sensitive detectors deep underground, physicists are attempting to detect dark matter particles streaming in from space. At the Large Hadron Collider, physicists hope to manufacture large numbers of dark matter particles and study their properties in the laboratory. I will describe these efforts and how impending discoveries may change our fundamental understanding of physics and the universe.