UW News

dark matter


September 4, 2025

Deep beneath the French Alps, dark matter hunters narrow their search

A mountain in the Alps, a lake below, and the Milky Way galaxy visible in a starry sky above.

Physicists have floated numerous theories to explain what dark matter might be, but to date, no experiment has turned up compelling evidence to support any of them. An international team of physicists, including researchers from the UW, is now working on a new kind of dark matter detector with the goal of capturing the first direct observation of the puzzling material. Results from the detector’s prototype have already ruled out one of the leading theories of how dark matter originated.