Abstract: Understanding the properties of dark matter particle is a fundamental problem in particle physics and cosmology. The search of dark matter particle scattering off nuclei target using ultra-low background detector is one of the most promising technology to decipher the nature of dark matter. The XENON1T experiment, which is a dual phase detector with 2.0 tons of xenon running at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy, is designed to lead the field of dark matter direct detection. Since November 2016, the XENON1T detector is continuously taking data, with a background rate of more than one order of magnitude lower than any current generation dark matter search experiment. In this talk, results from the dark matter search data accumulated between Dec 2016 and Jan 2017 will be presented, which provides the world’s leading sensitivity in the field. Further more,  ~150 days of dark matter search data accumulated in 2017 are being analyzed. The design and operation of the XENON1T detector as well as data analysis will also be covered.

 

Brief bio: Fei Gao obtained his Ph.D. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2016. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University. He has been working on the XENON dark matter direct detection project for about eight years.