Particle Physics News - SciTechDaily

Shattering Big Bang Myths: Surprising Insights Into the Origins of Matter in the Early Universe

U.S. Department of Energy — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 09:46:54 +0000

Scientists have recreated the extreme conditions of the early universe in particle accelerators, revealing surprising insights about the formation of matter. New calculations show that up to 70% of certain particles may originate from later reactions rather than the initial quark-gluon soup formed just after the Big Bang. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the [...]

From Chaos to Choreography: Revealing the Hidden Laws of Collective Motion

Sissa Medialab — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 12:00:07 +0000

Physical and biological systems are different. But are they? A new study on JSTAT observes that similarities might be greater than we think. A collaborative study reveals that collective movements in biology, like flocks of birds, are governed by principles similar to those observed in particle physics. The findings highlight the underlying similarities in transition [...]

Matter vs. Antimatter: New CERN Experiment Challenges Conventional Physics

Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 08:24:35 +0000

The BASE team at CERN has enhanced antiproton cooling techniques, allowing quicker and more precise measurements that challenge existing theories of matter-antimatter symmetry, potentially reshaping our understanding of the universe’s composition. Why does the universe contain matter and virtually no antimatter? The BASE international research collaboration at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in [...]

Quantum Computers Need a Quantum Internet: Here’s Why

University of California - Santa Barbara — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 17:09:18 +0000

When and why does a photon emitter fail to emit? Research at UC Santa Barbara sheds light on this question. Research on quantum internet technology highlights the challenge of producing stable photons at telecom wavelengths, with recent studies focusing on material improvements and advanced emission techniques to enhance quantum network efficiency. Computers benefit greatly from [...]

Mind-Bending Discovery: Neutrons Defy Classical Physics in Astonishing Experiment

Vienna University of Technology — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 08:22:08 +0000

Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says — or are there simpler explanations? Neutron measurements prove: It doesn’t work without the strange properties of quantum theory. Quantum theory allows particles to exist in superposition states, defying classical realism. The Leggett-Garg inequality tests this by comparing quantum behavior against classical expectations. Recent neutron beam [...]

Faster Than a Speeding Photon: How Tachyons Challenge Modern Physics

University of Warsaw — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 08:20:31 +0000

Recent advancements in tachyon theory have addressed past inconsistencies by incorporating both past and future states into the boundary conditions, leading to a new quantum entanglement theory and suggesting a critical role for tachyons in matter formation. Tachyons are hypothetical particles that travel at speeds greater than the speed of light. These superluminal particles, are [...]

New Research Shatters Old Beliefs About Gold Nanoparticles and Cancer

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 10:21:07 +0000

Research overturns old views on gold nanoparticles, showing larger, star-shaped ones are most effective against cancer, leading to a model that improves therapy design. Scientists have previously assumed that the smaller the nanoparticles used to fight the cancer cells, the faster they die. The logic behind this theory is that small nanoparticles would simply find [...]

Nonreciprocal Interactions Go Nonlinear: How Nanoparticles Are Changing the Rules of Physics

University of Vienna — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 14:31:33 +0000

Predator-Prey Analogy: Novel Interaction Between Particles Enabled Using two optically trapped glass nanoparticles, researchers observed a novel collective Non-Hermitian and nonlinear dynamic driven by nonreciprocal interactions. This contribution expands traditional optical levitation with tweezer arrays by incorporating the so-called non-conservative interactions. Their findings, supported by an analytical model developed by collaborators from Ulm University and [...]

When Particles Outrun Light: Unraveling the Mystery of Cherenkov Radiation

Higher Education Press — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 01:19:36 +0000

New research explores the Cherenkov effect where superluminal speeds generate radiation and discusses new research using this principle to create terahertz radiation for advanced imaging and radar applications. When charged particles travel through a medium at a speed greater than the phase speed of light in that medium (a phenomenon known as superluminal speed), they [...]

Deciphering Titanium-48: Unraveling a Century-Old Nuclear Enigma

Osaka Metropolitan University — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:28:44 +0000

A 100-year-old physics mystery may be close to being solved as new research reveals structural changes in titanium-48’s nucleus. The world around us is made up of particles invisible to the naked eye, but physicists continue to gain insights into this mysterious realm. Findings published in the journal Physical Review C by Osaka Metropolitan University [...]

Frontiers of Physics: Nuclear Structures Revealed via Atomic Collisions

Nuclear Science and Techniques — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 22:43:22 +0000

How fluctuations and deformations influence nuclear behavior. Researchers have uncovered detailed information about nuclear structures using relativistic isobar collisions. This study explores the subtle differences in atomic behavior, contributing to a deeper understanding of nuclear science. A Closer Look at Nuclear Collisions The study focused on the collisions of isobars, specifically 9644Ru+9644Ru and 9640Zr+9640Zr. These [...]

Physicists Just Made a Breakthrough That Could Explain Why We Exist

U.S. Department of Energy — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 10:36:44 +0000

Researchers have successfully measured the quantum structure of radium monofluoride (RaF) using ion-trapping and specialized laser techniques, allowing for the detailed characterization of its rotational energy levels and establishing a laser-cooling scheme. These findings are crucial for future experiments focused on laser-cooling and trapping RaF molecules, which are expected to play a significant role in [...]

Revolutionary AI Method Creates Precise Material “Fingerprints”

Jared Sagoff, Argonne National Laboratory — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 23:52:38 +0000

Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new technique using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy and artificial intelligence to analyze materials. This method generates detailed “fingerprints” of materials, which are interpreted by AI to reveal new information about material dynamics. The approach, known as AI-NERD, leverages unsupervised machine learning to recognize and cluster these [...]

Quantum Leap: How Flavor Transformation Could Revolutionize Neutrino Astrophysics

U.S. Department of Energy — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 01:10:18 +0000

Researchers are developing a method to simplify the calculation of neutrinos’ quantum flavor changes in dense astrophysical settings like supernovae. By integrating quantum mechanics into traditional transport models, this approach helps predict neutrino behavior and elemental production in stellar explosions, showing promise in initial tests. Neutrinos have a quantum mechanical property called “flavor.” This flavor [...]

From Lead to Light, How Colliders Illuminate Big Bang Physics

U.S. Department of Energy — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 19:04:07 +0000

Researchers use high-energy heavy-ion collisions to investigate quark-gluon plasma (QGP), studying its transient existence and the unique production of Bc mesons through charm and bottom quark recombination. These findings, supported by preliminary data from the Large Hadron Collider, highlight the potential of Bc mesons as indicators of QGP, with expected advancements in detection methods to [...]

Accelerating the Unknown: Rapid Calcium Fusion Sheds Light on Stellar Phenomena

U.S. Department of Energy — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 07:28:59 +0000

New experiments have demonstrated that stars convert potassium and hydrogen into calcium at a rate 13 times faster than previously thought. This discovery, derived from the proton stripping 39K(3He,d)40Ca reaction, sheds light on the unusual chemical composition of NGC 2419 and enhances the accuracy of stellar models. Groundbreaking Stellar Reaction Discovery For the first time, [...]

Science Made Simple: What Is Symmetry in Physics?

U.S. Department of Energy — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 23:39:14 +0000

What Is Symmetry in Physics? In physics, symmetry refers to how particles behave when space, time, or quantum numbers are reversed. We’re used to seeing simple types of symmetry in everyday life. For example, a human face is very nearly symmetrical when reflected left to right. But a face is completely asymmetric when reflected top [...]

Smaller, Faster, Cheaper: How Muons Are Changing Particle Acceleration

Imperial College London — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 09:04:50 +0000

New experimental results show particles called muons can be corralled into beams suitable for high-energy collisions, paving the way for new physics. Advancements in muon technology may revolutionize particle accelerators, offering more compact and cost-effective alternatives to the large-scale colliders currently in use. Recent experiments have demonstrated key technologies necessary for muon colliders, signaling a [...]

Decoding Quark Secrets: New Large Hadron Collider Findings Challenge Old Theories

U.S. Department of Energy — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:03:55 +0000

Measurements from the LHCb collaboration expand scientific understanding of how individual quarks assemble to form observable matter. Research from the Large Hadron Collider has unveiled that quarks, the primary components of visible matter, form composite particles differently based on environmental conditions. This discovery challenges the previously held belief that baryon production from quarks is uniform, [...]

Slippery When Smashed: How Sticky Is Dense Nuclear Matter?

U.S. Department of Energy — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:02:53 +0000

Advanced simulations of heavy atomic nucleus collisions have shown that the viscosity of the quark-gluon plasma increases with net-baryon density. This research, significant for understanding the phase transitions of nuclear matter, leverages data from various energy collisions to refine theoretical models. A fluidlike soup of visible matter’s fundamental building blocks, quarks, and gluons. is created [...]

How a Twist in Physics Could Change Technology Forever

University of Konstanz — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 16:11:43 +0000

Physicists at the University of Konstanz have discovered a way to imprint a previously unseen geometrical form of chirality onto electrons using laser light, creating chiral coils of mass and charge. This breakthrough in manipulating electron chirality has vast implications for quantum optics, particle physics, and electron microscopy, paving the way for new scientific explorations [...]

Science Made Simple: What Is Beta Decay?

U.S. Department of Energy — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 05:56:13 +0000

What Is Beta Decay? Beta decay is the most common form of radioactive decay. It happens in one of two ways. In one type of beta decay, an unstable atomic nucleus emits an electron and an antineutrino while converting a neutron to a proton. In the second type, the unstable nucleus emits a positron (a [...]

Quantum Revelations: Unveiling New Layers of the Higgs Boson

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 22:23:33 +0000

New research confirms the Standard Model’s predictions about the Higgs boson while suggesting future data may reveal unknown aspects of particle physics. The Higgs boson was discovered in the detectors of the Large Hadron Collider a dozen or so years ago. It has proved to be a particle so difficult to produce and observe that, [...]

Probing Dark Matter: Quantum Technology and the Quest To Solve Space’s Biggest Mystery

Lancaster University — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 21:58:21 +0000

Scientists are employing advanced quantum technologies to build highly sensitive dark matter detectors, aiming to directly observe and identify dark matter, which makes up 80% of the universe’s matter. One of the greatest mysteries of science could be one step closer to being solved. Approximately 80% of the matter in the universe is dark, meaning [...]