Dark matter search enters new chapter

First magnet installed for the ALPS-II experiment at DESY

The international ALPS II (“Any light particle search”) collaboration installed the first of 24 superconducting magnets today, marking the start of the installation of a unique particle physics experiment to look for dark matter. Located at the German research centre DESY in Hamburg, it is set to start taking data in 2021 by looking for dark matter particles that literally make light shine through a wall, thus providing clues to one of the biggest questions in physics today: what is the nature of dark matter?

The ALPS II collaboration consists of some 25 scientists from six international scientific institutions, among which are the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and the Institute for Gravitational Physics at Leibniz Universität of Hannover. Benno Willke leads the ALPS group and the laser development group at these two institutes.

Read more in this DESY press release.