DOE, NSF to fund LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment at Sanford Lab

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), a second generation dark matter experiment, got a big boost when the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation selected it as one of three experiments that will be funded in the next-generation dark matter search. LZ will build on the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment, which has been operating at the 4850 Level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility since 2012, and on the ZEPLIN dark matter program in the United Kingdom, which pioneered the use of these types of detectors underground.

"We emerged from a very intense competition," said Daniel McKinsey, professor of physics at Yale and a spokesperson for LUX. "We have the most sensitive detector in the world, with LUX. LZ will be hundreds of times more sensitive. It's gratifying to see that our approach is being validated."

Construction on the supersized detector is scheduled to begin in 2016, with a commissioning date of 2018. Plans for LZ have been in the works for several years.

"This is great news for the future of Dark Matter exploration and the Sanford Lab," said Mike Headley, Executive Director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority. "The LZ experiment will play a key role in the future of the lab and we're pleased that the DOE selected the experiment. It certainly will extend the state?s investment in this world-class facility."

Rick Gaitskell, Hazard Professor of Physics at Brown, is a founding member of LZ and also co-spokesperson for the LUX experiment.

"The go-ahead from DOE and NSF is a major event," Gaitskell said. "The LZ experiment will continue the liquid xenon direct dark matter search program at Sanford Lab, which we started with the operation of LUX in 2013. LUX will run until 2016 when we will replace it with LZ, which can provide a further improvement in sensitivity of two orders of magnitude due to its significant increase in size."

Even if LUX makes a dark matter detection before LZ is up and running, LZ will still be necessary to confirm the detection and fully characterize the nature of WIMPS, Gaitskell said.

"This green light is a clear indication of the value the agencies see, not only in all the preparatory work that has gone into LZ, but also in the existing accomplishment of LUX and Sanford Lab these past few years," said Simon Fiorucci, a research scientist at Brown who is the science coordinator for LUX and simulations coordinator for LZ. "LZ will be timed so that it is ready to start operations when LUX delivers its final results and reaches the limits of its technology. It will be a very natural transition."

Harry Nelson, professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and spokesperson for the LZ Collaboration, said, "We still have a lot of work to do. Basically, we got the green light to go the next green light, then the next green light. Still," he continued, "Everyone is excited."