Hunting Dark Matter in Vienna
In my lab we will explore the nature of dark matter. We will use cutting-edge sensors to search for traces left by this cosmic enigma.
The nature of 85% of the matter in our Universe is a mystery. This elusive dark matter might be passing through our laboratories on Earth unnoticed, leaving behind faint traces that have thus far evaded detection. We will hunt for these traces in a new laboratory at the Institute of High Energy Physics, located in the heart of Vienna.
We will develop novel sensors for this task. The sensors will consist of millimeter-scale superconductors that are levitated using electromagnets. We will precisely measure the motion of the levitated superconductors and carefully isolate them from background noise. Our aim is to detect any tiny disturbances or jolts caused by dark matter particles passing through the laboratory.
Explore the unseen, unravel the Universe's mysteries!
If you would like to join the team as a master's student, PhD student or postdoc, please get in touch!
Contact us
Image credits
Photo of Gerard from Cristine Calil Kores
The Andromeda galaxy from David (Deddy) Dayag, CC BY-SA 4.0
The bullet cluster from NASA
Sensor schematic by Gerard Higgins