Physics at Underground Laboratories: Direct Detection of Dark Matter

Abstract

Underground laboratories host two kind of experiments at the frontier of our knowledge in Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology: the direct detection of the Dark Matter of the Universe and the search for the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of the nuclei. Both experimental quests pose great technical challenges which are being addressed in different ways by an important number of groups. Here a updated review of the efforts being done to detect Dark Matter particles is presented, emphasizing latest achievements.