Direct search for dark matter with two-phase xenon detectors: Current status of LUX and plans for LZ

The search for dark matter reaches back generations and remains one of the most compelling endeavors in the hunt for physics beyond the Standard Model. Experiments attempting to directly detect WIMP dark matter have made re-markable progress in increasing sensitivity to elastic scattering of WIMPs on nuclei. The LUX experiment is a 370-kg, two-phase, xenon TPC currently running at SURF, 4850 feet below Lead, SD. LUX recently completed its first science run and was sensitive to spin independent WIMP scattering at cross sections below 10-45 cm2 for WIMP masses of approximately 20 to 80 GeV. Preparations for the final science run of LUX are currently underway, with final results expected in 2015. We will present results from and current status of the LUX experiment, as well as plans for a follow-on, multi-ton-scale xenon experiment at SURF