LZ experiment records single unexplained event possibly from dark matter
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Researchers with the LZ Project presented a single unexplained interaction recorded in a 10 metric ton liquid xenon detector buried about a mile underground in a former South Dakota gold mine, found during analysis of 220 days of data. The event produced a xenon nucleus recoil with light and electron signals similar to what is expected for a hypothetical WIMP dark matter particle, and investigators estimate a 0.5% chance a known interference produced it; the analysis stands at 2.6 sigma, well below the five-sigma threshold. Teams will collect more data and seek confirmation from related experiments.
One unexplained event in LZ may hint at dark matter.
Context
Researchers presented new LZ data at a particle astrophysics conference in Japan. They found one unexplained xenon recoil and will collect more data to see if the signal grows.
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