One of the main goals of the LHC experiments is to look for signs of new particles, which could explain many of the unsolved mysteries in physics. Often, searches for new physics are designed to look for one specific type of new particle at a time, using theoretical predictions as a guide. But what about … Read more
In May 2022, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU), launched its precision measurement program. Staff from FRIB’s Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility take high-energy, rare-isotope beams generated at FRIB and cool them to a lower energy state. Afterward, the researchers measure specific particles’ masses at high … Read more
Contrary to the prevailing assumptions of the standard model, recent research suggests that dark matter may indeed be self-interacting. This groundbreaking study, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics and led by Riccardo Valdarnini of SISSA’s Astrophysics and Cosmology group, used numerical simulations to explore the dynamics within “El Gordo” (Spanish for “The Fat One”), a colossal … Read more
Artificial intelligence (AI), in conjunction with a novel bio-inspired camera, has achieved a breakthrough in pedestrian and obstacle detection, boasting a 100-times increase in speed compared to current automotive cameras. Researchers from the University of Zurich spearheaded this significant advancement, which holds promise for dramatically enhancing the safety of automotive systems and self-driving vehicles. The … Read more
Analyzing samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu by the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has revealed new insights into the magnetic and physical bombardment environment of interplanetary space. The results of the study, carried out by Professor Yuki Kimura at Hokkaido University and co-workers at 13 other institutions in Japan, are published in the journal … Read more
The late physicist Joseph Polchinski once said the existence of magnetic monopoles is “one of the safest bets that one can make about physics not yet seen.” In its quest for these particles, which have a magnetic charge and are predicted by several theories that extend the Standard Model, the MoEDAL collaboration at the Large … Read more
Mars, often referred to as the Red Planet, has captivated human imagination for centuries with its mysterious allure. As the fourth planet from the Sun and Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor, Mars has been a focal point of space exploration and scientific inquiry. From ancient myths and speculative fiction to modern-day missions and discoveries, the exploration … Read more
The U.S. nuclear physics community is preparing to build the electron–ion collider (EIC), a flagship facility for probing the properties of matter and the strong nuclear force that holds matter together. The EIC will allow scientists to study how nucleons (protons and neutrons) arise from the complex interactions of quarks and gluons. A project led … Read more
Space exploration, once a realm confined to the imagination, has become a tangible reality in the modern era. However, as humanity extends its reach into the cosmos, it faces a growing concern: space debris. Space debris, also known as space junk or orbital debris, refers to defunct human-made objects orbiting Earth. Ranging from spent rocket … Read more
What is the mass of a neutrino at rest? This is one of the big unanswered questions in physics. Neutrinos play a central role in nature. A team led by Klaus Blaum, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, has now made an important contribution in “weighing” neutrinos as part of … Read more
The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 slotted in the final missing piece of the Standard Model puzzle. Yet, it left lingering questions. What lies beyond this framework? Where are the new phenomena that would solve the universe’s remaining mysteries, such as the nature of dark matter and the origin of matter-antimatter asymmetry? One … Read more
Recent discoveries in space science have unveiled intriguing insights into the early dynamics of our solar system, shedding light on the formation of celestial bodies like our moon. A team of space scientists led by the University of Leicester has unearthed evidence from the remnants of a destroyed asteroid, hinting at a crucial period in … Read more
Neutron star mergers are a treasure trove for new physics signals, with implications for determining the true nature of dark matter, according to research from Washington University in St. Louis. On Aug. 17, 2017, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States and Virgo, a detector in Italy, detected gravitational waves from the … Read more
When they are active, supermassive black holes play a crucial role in the way galaxies evolve. Until now, growth was thought to be triggered by the violent collision of two galaxies followed by their merger; however, new research led by the University of Bath suggests galaxy mergers alone are not enough to fuel a black … Read more
Scientists are getting a more detailed look than ever before at the electrons they use in precision experiments. Nuclear physicists with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have shattered a nearly 30-year-old record for the measurement of parallel spin within an electron beam—or electron beam polarimetry, for short. The achievement sets … Read more
A multinational collaboration of astronomers and astrophysicists recently unveiled groundbreaking evidence surrounding the luminous gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A, which graced the cosmos with its brilliance last year. Contrary to earlier assumptions attributing such bursts to the demise of massive stars, the team’s findings, published in the esteemed journal Nature, indicate that this particular spectacle emanated … Read more
A new analysis by the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a particle collider at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, provides the first direct evidence of the imprint left by what may be the universe’s most powerful magnetic fields on “deconfined” nuclear matter. The evidence comes from measuring … Read more
Primates show a remarkable ability to modify their behaviors to accommodate their physical disabilities and impairments according to a new literature review by Concordia researchers. Whether the disabilities were the result of congenital malformations or injuries, many primate species exhibited behavioral flexibility and innovation to compensate for their disabilities. They also benefitted from flexible and … Read more