Our experiments

The Particle Physics Department (PPD) collaborates with UK universities and international partners on a wide range of high-energy physics experiments, spanning neutrino physics, dark matter searches, and next-generation particle accelerators.

Our researchers design, build, and operate detectors and instrumentation at laboratories around the world, from deep underground to high-energy colliders, pushing the boundaries of fundamental physics.

A circular array of amber, glossy photomultiplier tubes arranged in a grid pattern. Credit: Matthew Kapust/Sanford Underground Research Facility

Dark matter

QUEST-DMC

Quantum experiment exploring previously inaccessible dark matter parameter space

MIGDAL

Desktop fusion device at ISIS investigating an important background for dark matter searches

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ)

Xenon-based detector providing precise event reconstruction for dark matter searches

CERN

LHCb

Dedicated to studying CP violation and rare decays of beauty and charm quarks

CMS

General-purpose LHC detector investigating the Standard Model and searching for new physics, including dark matter

ATLAS

General-purpose LHC detector studying the fundamental constituents of matter and searching for new particles

Neutrino

Tokai to Kamioka (T2K)

Based in Japan, a long-baseline experiment studying how muon neutrinos change flavour over 295 km

Future experiments

AION

The UK's first large-scale atom interferometer, designed to investigate ultra-light dark matter and mid-frequency gravitational waves using quantum interference techniques

XLZD

XLZD is a next generation rare-event observatory for dark matter searches and a wide range of rare physics such as neutrinoless double-beta decay

LhARA

LhARA combines laser accelerators with traditional accelerator technology to advance radiobiology and future cancer treatments

DarkSide-20k

DarkSide-20k is a next generation dark matter experiment designed to search for a wide range of dark matter candidates using ultrapure liquid argon

Hyper-Kamiokande (Hyper-K)

Large water-Cherenkov neutrino detector studying neutrino oscillations, proton decay, and astrophysical neutrinos

DUNE

Long-baseline neutrino experiment studying neutrino oscillations and differences between neutrinos and antineutrinos

Contact PPD

Get in touch to explore PPD’s experiments and help uncover the Universe’s hidden secrets.