Direct detection of WIMPs

To test the hypothesis according to which Weakly Interacting Massive Particles are a major constituent of Dark Matter, direct detection experiments aim at detecting the spectrum of nuclear recoils induced by WIMPs from the Milky Way halo within a target material. While the detection concept is already more than 20 years old, recent experimental developments have allowed fast progress, which up to now have lead to constrain electroweak theories beyond the standard model in a complementary way to collider experiments.