Darkside

The starry sky anticipates the morning light at hikers’ camp just under the summit of Mount Gran Sasso in Abruzzo. The group prepares to reach the peak, bringing with them a mysterious object.
The nature around us dominates our perception of reality, we are able to explain much of what surrounds us and what we are capable of seeing. However, what we can see with our eyes, the visible light spectrum, is but a tiny fraction of the Electromagnetic Waves that pervade us, from Radio waves to Gamma rays.
In the last two centuries, mankind has made giant strides by rendering all Electromagnetic Waves ‘visible’ thanks to technological progress. But is this enough to explain all things that surround us?
Absolutely not, visible matter is no more than 15% of the total matter in the Cosmos, and of the remaining 85% we know almost nothing, except that it exists and only interacts gravitationally with ordinary matter, thus determining the formation and movement of planets, stars and galaxies.

It pervades the Cosmos and determines the behavior of stars and galaxies? A research project that began in the 1920s and now finally seems to have reached a turning point. We look back at the milestones of this research and introduce the fundamental themes.
From the first astronomical observations that provide indirect evidence for the existence of Dark Matter, to laboratory experiments aimed at finding the WIMP particle, the scientific world is searching for direct detections to determine the nature of this elusive fundamental component of the Universe. Our protagonists are five researchers who have dedicated their lives to this quest and will share with us their points of view, hopes and expectations, illustrating their research path, the actual progress made compared to the past and the race of different research groups from all over the world, allies and rivals, to a historic discovery that will be worth the Nobel Prize.
What will be the practical and philosophical implications for each one of us when light will finally be shed on the nature of Dark Matter? How will the awareness of our place in the Cosmos change? We will examine the heritage passed on to the new generations of scientists, who will continue the never-ending quest of humankind for knowledge, to answer the same existential questions we have been asking since the dawn of time. The experimental detection of WIMPs will lead to a new era of understanding of the laws of physics, are we ready for this latest disruption of our beliefs?