Direct search for relic particles

Experimental Searches for Dark Matter

There is now an enormously rich variety of experimental techniques being brought to bear on experimental searches for dark matter, covering a wide range of suggested forms for it. The existence of "dark matter", in some form or other, is inferred from a number of relatively simple observations and the problem has been known for over half a century. To explain "dark matter" is one of the foremost challenges today - the answer will be of fundamental importance to cosmologists, astrophysicists, particle physicists, and general relativists. In this article, I will give a brief review of the observational evidence (concentrating on areas of current significant activity), followed by anequally brief summary of candidate solutions for the 'dark matter'. I will then discuss experimental searches, both direct and indirect. Finally, I will offer prospects for the future.