XENON is a direct dark matter detection experiment located at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Italy. Our goal is to detect dark matter particles by identifying their very rare interactions with ordinary matter where minute amounts of charge and light are created.
The first module, XENON10, was successfully operated until 2007, leading to some of the best limits on dark matter so far.
The data from second module, XENON100, has yielded the best limits on dark matter to date. It is currently running and taking additional data.
An upgrade to the current effort with a target mass of 1 ton, XENON1T, is in final design stages, and has already been approved by the Gran Sasso National Laboratory.
Link to the XENON web page.
The Weizmann Group
Our local XENON program is diverse and includes the following activities:
- Detector development - R&D of optical detectors for the next generation XENON detector
- Statistical methods
- Calibration
- Electronics
- Data analysis
- Hardware development
- Simulation