Particle physics

The first dark matter detector in the Southern Hemisphere has been officially opened. The Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) is built in a disused gold mine in Australia, giving it a unique position on the globe for detecting dark matter.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson. But what exactly is this particle, and why is it so important? What has it taught us in the last decade – and more importantly, what could it teach us in the next decade?

The world’s most sensitive dark matter detector is ready to tackle one of the most perplexing mysteries of the universe. Over 50 times more sensitive than others, LUX-ZEPLIN lurks quietly a mile underground, waiting for these hypothetical particles.

The movements of the Sun, Moon and stars have long been used to keep track of time, and now engineers from the University of Tokyo have proposed a new way to use the cosmos to precisely track time, using showers of particles from cosmic rays.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest and most powerful particle accelerator ever built, is ready to renter service after a three-year overhaul and refit. On April 22, two proton beams were sent around the the 27-kilometer-long ring.

A collaboration of physicists has made the most precise measurement of the mass of the W boson. The new measurement of this key particle differs drastically from the Standard Model's predictions– and it may unravel physics as we know it.

The universe is governed by two sets of seemingly incompatible laws of physics – classical and quantum physics. MIT physicists have now observed the moment atoms switch from one to the other, as they form intriguing “quantum tornadoes.”

Physicists at CERN have discovered that antimatter falls down. It sounds obvious, but scientists hadn’t yet been able to confirm that it responds to gravity in the same way as regular matter does. A new experiment provides the best answer so far.

CERN physicists have measured the life of the Higgs boson with greater accuracy than ever before. Since the legendary particle only lives for a tiny fraction a second, the scientists came up with a creative workaround to calculate the new figure.

Fermilab physicists have developed a next-generation magnet that can generate a magnetic field with great efficiency, and used it to demonstrate what they describe as the world’s fastest ramping rates for particle accelerator magnets.

A huge range of dark matter suspects are being investigated. In a new study, astronomers have searched for clouds of hypothetical ultralight particles that could congregate around black holes, and reveal themselves by sending out gravitational waves.

Physicists have detected “ghost particles” in the Large Hadron Collider for the first time. An experiment called FASER picked up signals of neutrinos being produced in particle collisions, which can help scientists better understand key physics.