Results from XENON10 and the Race to Detect Dark Matter with Noble Liquids

 

 

Tom Shutt

Case Western Reserve University

 

 

 

Detectors based on liquid noble gasses have the potential to revolutionize the direct search for WIMP dark matter.   The  XENON10 experiment, of which I am a member, has recently announced  the results from it's first data run and is now the leading WIMP search experiment.  This and other experiments using xenon, argon and neon have the potential to rapidly move from the current kg-scale target mass to the ton scale and well beyond.   This should allow a (nearly) definitive test or discovery of dark matter if it is in the form of weakly interacting massive particles.