Direct Dark Matter Environment Monitoring

The majority of the universe is made up of non-luminous matter known as dark matter, whose presence is unquestionable, but properties and nature are as yet to be determined. In the search for dark matter it is vital to monitor and record the environment in which these experiments are conducted, as the experiments are very sensitive to background disturbances. In this study, a novel and robust background monitoring system and cosmic muon detection system have been developed for deployment at the dark matter detector in Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory located 1km underground at the Stawell Goldmine in Victoria. The monitoring systems developed in this study will help advance the search for dark matter both in Australia and globally.