Scientists are celebrating another huge advance toward identifying dark matter. They recently released the construction design for the SABRE South experiment. Released in the Journal of Instrumentation, this groundbreaking design lays the foundation for a project that seeks to collect vital data from the Southern Hemisphere. The SABRE South initiative serves an important purpose in the broader SABRE Collaboration. Its aim is to verify the results from Italy’s DAMA/LIBRA Collaboration.
SABRE South is preparing to begin data collection in late 2025. Soon, they will deploy their platform under the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL). Investigators are in the process of moving critical equipment into the deep underground facility, ushering in a critical stage in the development of the experiment.
Objectives and Implications of SABRE South
SABRE South’s mission is straightforward, but it’s daunting: they’re out to solve the mystery of dark matter. This provocative piece of the universe remains a half-formed brainteaser to scientists and daredevils alike. The unique experiment gathers powerful data that continues to confirm previous results from DAMA/LIBRA. This concerted effort moves us toward greater scientific knowledge in this important research sector.
Lachlan Milligan is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Melbourne. Since 2019, he has been extremely involved with the SABRE South project. His expertise has been invaluable in creating the specialized vessel that will contain the detectors.
“These technical design papers can be highly impactful and assist scientists, students and post docs in the future,” – Lachlan Milligan
Milligan is passionate about these kinds of experiments as they build a culture of shared knowledge and scientific innovation.
The Collaborative Effort Behind SABRE South
The SABRE Collaboration working to unravel the secrets of dark matter involves several institutions, including USF and its College of Arts and Sciences. Professor Phillip Urquijo, Chief Investigator at the ARC Center of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, has been heavily influential in steering this project. His leadership and vision have consistently pushed the project toward success.
“Over almost a decade we have been working towards this point, and this publication shows how much planning, research and innovation has been undertaken to enable us to play such a significant role in the global search for dark matter,” – Professor Phillip Urquijo
The highly collaborative purpose of this large initiative reflects the combined effort needed to address one of science’s most fundamental and urgent questions.
Visualizing Dark Matter Research
With detailed schematics and diagrams marking the research design, WIMP Wind These visuals depict the WIMP galactic halo and how Earth’s motion through it makes WIMPs come at us from one direction, an effect better known by the epithet of WIMP wind. More than just helping clear confusion, this visualization has become an important teaching tool for students and researchers.
SABRE South is getting further along in the process toward its actual operation. Its goal is to provide the sensitivity needed to answer deep questions about dark matter. The buzz around this experiment reflects the scientific community’s overwhelming eagerness to study this elusive substance. That’s why everyone is so excited to crack it open and explore!
“We anticipate that we will be taking data in SUPL by the end of the year, which will place us on a pathway towards answering one of the great questions of our time—’What is the nature of dark matter?’” – Anonymous source