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IT’S just like a wimp to be a no-show when summoned for interrogation. That seems to be the result of an experiment to detect the weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs, thought to make up the universe’s elusive dark matter.
The experiment, deep below a mountain at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory near L’Aquila, Italy, uses a tub of liquid xenon to detect WIMPs. The particles, if they exist, should occasionally hit the xenon atoms, producing telltale light signals.
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But no unexpected signal was seen in 100 days ().
The result sets a new maximum on the possible strength of WIMPs’ interaction with normal matter, writes of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in his blog. It also “calls into question” hints of lightweight WIMPs seen at two other dark-matter detectors.