国际液氙探测暗物质的实验技术及科学成果研究OA

[Significance]Numerous astronomical observations have confirmed the existence of dark matter in the universe.Weakly Interacting Massive Particles(WIMPs)can naturally form in the early universe,and if they exist stably,their mass density satisfies the constraints imposed by astronomical observations.These properties make WIMPs one of the most promising candidates for dark matter.Their detection methods include direct detection,indirect detection,and collider detection,often described as the approaches of"reaching for the sky,delving into the earth,and venturing to the Antarctic."Xenon,an inert element,has become an optimal target material for the direct detection of WIMP dark matter particles owing to its unique physical and chemical properties.Internationally,major detection experiments using liquid xenon as the target material include XENON,LUX-ZEPLIN(LZ),and PandaX,and the dual-phase time projection chamber(DPTPC)is the core technology for dark matter detection.As one of the most cutting-edge scientific directions of the 21st century,dark matter research may hold the key to revealing the fundamental laws of the universe.By elaborating on a series of achievements in the field of dark matter research,this paper enables readers to understand international experimental technologies and scientific progress in liquid xenon-based dark matter detection.[Progress]XENON10 was the world's first liquid xenon-based dark matter detection experiment,which sets a limit of 8.8×10-44 cm² for WIMPs with a mass of 100 GeV/c².XENON100 increased the target mass to 10 times that of XENON10,allowing it to place a stringent limit of 2.0×10-45 cm² on the spin-independent nucleon scattering of WIMPs with a mass of 55 GeV/c².With a target mass 32 times that of XENON100,XENON1T sets a cross-section limit of 1.6×10-47 cm² for spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering at a mass of 50 GeV/c².XENONnT is a rapid upgrade based on XENON1T;using 97.1 days of valid data,it reported a minimum upper cross-section limit of 2.58×10-47 cm² for spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering at a mass of 28 GeV/c².Using 85.3 days of scientific data,LUX sets a minimum upper cross-section limit of 7.6×10-46 cm² for spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering at a mass of 33 GeV/c².An analysis of its complete 95-day dataset yielded a minimum upper cross-section limit of 6.0×10-46 cm² at the same mass.Based on 332 days of newly acquired data,LUX sets an upper exclusion limit of 2.2×10-46 cm² for spin-independent WIMP interactions at a mass of 50 GeV/c².A combined analysis of two LUX phases excluded a minimum cross-section of 1.1×10-46 cm² for WIMPs at 50 GeV/c² and set a minimum upper cross-section limit of 1.6×10-41 cm² for spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon scattering at a mass of 35 GeV/c².The ZEPLIN-III detector,using 319 days of data,excluded a cross-section limit of 4.8×10-44 cm² for WIMPs with a mass near 50 GeV/c².LZ,an upgraded experiment building on the foundations of LUX and ZEPLIN-III,used 60 days of valid data collected between 2021 and 2022 to set a cross-section limit of 9.2×10-48 cm² for spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering at a mass of 36 GeV/c².By combining 220 days of data collected between 2023 and 2024 with the previous 60-day dataset,LZ placed world-leading limits on spin-independent and spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon scattering interactions for WIMP masses≥9 GeV/c².[Conclusions and Prospects]To achieve more precise detection of dark matter signals,the XLZD collaboration has been established by the XENON,LZ,and DARWIN experiments,with the goal of constructing and operating a next-generation dark matter detector.The XLZD detector will exceed the scale of DARWIN and further close the gap to the"neutrino fog."With the completion of the next-generation dark matter detector by 2030,XLZD may enable the discovery of dark matter particles in the universe.This breakthrough would help humanity solve a puzzle that has persisted for nearly a century and open new avenues for understanding the universe.