Dark Matter and Dark Energy: Experimental Approaches to Detection
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15662/IJEETR.2021.0302002Keywords:
Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), Direct Detection, NobleLiquid Time Projection Chambers (LUX, XENON, DEAP, ArDM),, Cryogenic Detectors (CDMS EDELWEISS), Axion Haloscope (ADMX), Indirect Detection (Fermi-LAT, AMS), Tabletop Experiments (Millicharged, Chameleon Particles), Null Results & ConstraintsAbstract
Dark matter and dark energy are fundamental yet elusive components of the cosmos. Before 2020, experimental approaches toward detecting dark matter spanned direct detection, indirect observations, and laboratorybased sensitive probes; dark energy efforts, by contrast, were largely observational, with a few pioneering tabletop proposals. Direct detection leveraged cryogenic detectors (e.g., CDMS, EDELWEISS), noble-liquid Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) such as XENON10/XENON100, LUX, ZEPLIN-III, DEAP, ArDM, and bubble chambers (COUPP), aiming to observe rare recoil events from WIMPs in underground laboratories. Reviews emphasized rapid improvements in detection thresholds and methods, yet no definitive detection was made . XENON10 placed early limits on sub-GeV dark matter via electron scattering . ZEPLIN-III ruled out sizable WIMP-nucleon cross-sections . LUX achieved world-leading sensitivities by 2013 but reported null results . Noble-liquid ArDM and DEAP-3600 contributed additional constraints, though also without positive detection .
Axion search efforts, particularly ADMX (axion haloscope with microwave cavities and SQUID amplifiers), reached sensitivity to realistic dark-matter axion parameters by 2010, but no axions were detected .
Indirect and astrophysical detection efforts (e.g., gamma-ray, positron measurements with Fermi-LAT, AMS), produced intriguing excesses—such as positron enhancements in cosmic rays and the Galactic Center gamma excess— but such signals remain ambiguous and inconclusive .
Novel tabletop experiments, such as those using levitated microspheres to probe millicharged particles or chameleon fields related to dark energy, offered complementary, cost-effective routes, though results were null .
Overall, pre-2020 experimental approaches significantly constrained dark-matter parameter space and advanced detection technologies, yet no confirmed direct or laboratory detection existed for dark matter—or dark energy. This review synthesizes methodologies, results, strengths, limitations, and the path forward.
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