LZ Dark Matter
@lzdarkmatter.bsky.social
The official LZ dark matter experiment Bluesky feed. Hunter of WIMPs, underground dweller.
#DarkMatter101 #DarkMatter #LZCrashCourse #ParticlePhysics #ScienceSeries #SpaceMysteries #DirectDetection #Astrophysics
September 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Join us next time to find out about the signals we collect and how they can be used to identify dark matter! 🔎🌌
September 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Join us next time to find out about the signals we collect and how they can be used to identify dark matter! 🔎🌌
We use an electric field to push ionized electrons into the gas at top of the detector to collect a second flash of light for every particle interaction- more on this next time!
September 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
We use an electric field to push ionized electrons into the gas at top of the detector to collect a second flash of light for every particle interaction- more on this next time!
We use photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) as the eyes 👀 of the detector to collect the flashes of light produced by the xenon.
September 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
We use photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) as the eyes 👀 of the detector to collect the flashes of light produced by the xenon.
The more xenon we have, the more chance of seeing dark matter...
September 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
The more xenon we have, the more chance of seeing dark matter...
Xenon is an ideal target for dark matter, and it scintillates ✨ - produces light when particles pass through it.
September 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Xenon is an ideal target for dark matter, and it scintillates ✨ - produces light when particles pass through it.
This lesson is a bit of a shift from the previous ones! So far, we’ve explored how we know dark matter exists and how we might detect it, even though it is invisible to us!
Now we are zooming in on the LZ experiment, which uses three key ingredients to look for dark matter...
Now we are zooming in on the LZ experiment, which uses three key ingredients to look for dark matter...
September 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This lesson is a bit of a shift from the previous ones! So far, we’ve explored how we know dark matter exists and how we might detect it, even though it is invisible to us!
Now we are zooming in on the LZ experiment, which uses three key ingredients to look for dark matter...
Now we are zooming in on the LZ experiment, which uses three key ingredients to look for dark matter...
Collider searches, like at the LHC, look for signatures of dark matter produced in high energy particle collisions.
Ideally, we will see consistent evidence of dark matter particles in all three of these types of searches! ✨
Ideally, we will see consistent evidence of dark matter particles in all three of these types of searches! ✨
July 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Collider searches, like at the LHC, look for signatures of dark matter produced in high energy particle collisions.
Ideally, we will see consistent evidence of dark matter particles in all three of these types of searches! ✨
Ideally, we will see consistent evidence of dark matter particles in all three of these types of searches! ✨
Indirect searches look for particles produced by dark matter annihilating or decaying out in distant space!
July 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Indirect searches look for particles produced by dark matter annihilating or decaying out in distant space!
LZ is a direct detection experiment, we hope to observe the recoils of dark matter with our liquid xenon target 🎯
July 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM
LZ is a direct detection experiment, we hope to observe the recoils of dark matter with our liquid xenon target 🎯
Also known as shake it, break it, make it!
July 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Also known as shake it, break it, make it!
There are three main ways in which you can try to detect dark matter:
🎬Direct detection
⚡️Indirect detection
💥Collider production
🎬Direct detection
⚡️Indirect detection
💥Collider production
July 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM
There are three main ways in which you can try to detect dark matter:
🎬Direct detection
⚡️Indirect detection
💥Collider production
🎬Direct detection
⚡️Indirect detection
💥Collider production
Lesson number three is all about how we can detect dark matter. In previous lessons we saw that there is a lot of dark matter in our universe, but that it’s invisible! So, how can we detect it?
July 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Lesson number three is all about how we can detect dark matter. In previous lessons we saw that there is a lot of dark matter in our universe, but that it’s invisible! So, how can we detect it?
WIMPs are a hypothetical class of particles that LZ is searching for 🕵️
Tune in next time when we will be talking about how we can detect dark matter.
#DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #WIMPs #ParticlePhysics #Astrophysics #ScienceSeries #SpaceMysteries
Tune in next time when we will be talking about how we can detect dark matter.
#DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #WIMPs #ParticlePhysics #Astrophysics #ScienceSeries #SpaceMysteries
May 26, 2025 at 9:45 AM
WIMPs are a hypothetical class of particles that LZ is searching for 🕵️
Tune in next time when we will be talking about how we can detect dark matter.
#DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #WIMPs #ParticlePhysics #Astrophysics #ScienceSeries #SpaceMysteries
Tune in next time when we will be talking about how we can detect dark matter.
#DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #WIMPs #ParticlePhysics #Astrophysics #ScienceSeries #SpaceMysteries
One of the candidates that meets these requirements are WIMPs ✅
May 26, 2025 at 9:45 AM
One of the candidates that meets these requirements are WIMPs ✅
But we do know that dark matter should be:
🫥 Invisible - it doesn’t interact with light
🐴 Stable - it existed at the very start of the universe
🪐 Massive - we see its gravitational impact all over the universe
❄️ Cold - dark matter provided the building blocks for our universe
🫥 Invisible - it doesn’t interact with light
🐴 Stable - it existed at the very start of the universe
🪐 Massive - we see its gravitational impact all over the universe
❄️ Cold - dark matter provided the building blocks for our universe
May 26, 2025 at 9:45 AM
But we do know that dark matter should be:
🫥 Invisible - it doesn’t interact with light
🐴 Stable - it existed at the very start of the universe
🪐 Massive - we see its gravitational impact all over the universe
❄️ Cold - dark matter provided the building blocks for our universe
🫥 Invisible - it doesn’t interact with light
🐴 Stable - it existed at the very start of the universe
🪐 Massive - we see its gravitational impact all over the universe
❄️ Cold - dark matter provided the building blocks for our universe
Today we are looking at what we know about dark matter and what that tells us about what it might be.
What do we know? Not much!
What do we know? Not much!
May 26, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Today we are looking at what we know about dark matter and what that tells us about what it might be.
What do we know? Not much!
What do we know? Not much!
💫 And the Bullet Cluster? It’s a cosmic smash-up where dark matter and normal matter clearly part ways.
This is just the beginning. Follow along as we dive deeper into the universe’s biggest missing piece #DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #ComaCluster #VeraRubin #BulletCluster #Astrophysics
This is just the beginning. Follow along as we dive deeper into the universe’s biggest missing piece #DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #ComaCluster #VeraRubin #BulletCluster #Astrophysics
April 28, 2025 at 6:55 PM
💫 And the Bullet Cluster? It’s a cosmic smash-up where dark matter and normal matter clearly part ways.
This is just the beginning. Follow along as we dive deeper into the universe’s biggest missing piece #DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #ComaCluster #VeraRubin #BulletCluster #Astrophysics
This is just the beginning. Follow along as we dive deeper into the universe’s biggest missing piece #DarkMatter101 #LZCrashCourse #DarkMatter #ComaCluster #VeraRubin #BulletCluster #Astrophysics