What’s up with the W boson mass?
The CDF experiment at Fermilab measured the mass of the W boson and came up with an answer that no one expected.
Fermilab is America’s particle physics and accelerator laboratory. Our vision is to solve the mysteries of matter, energy, space and time for the benefit of all.
Fermilab astrophysicist Josh Frieman elected to National Academy of Sciences
Fermilab scientist Josh Frieman, former director of the Dark Energy Survey, has been elected by his peers to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, considered one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. Members are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
Astronomers reveal first image of the black hole at the heart of our galaxy
Astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the center of most galaxies.
SLAC’s superconducting X-ray laser reaches operating temperature colder than outer space
The facility, LCLS-II, will soon sharpen our view of how nature works on ultrasmall, ultrafast scales, impacting everything from quantum devices to clean energy.
Fermilab strengthens commitment to U.S. veterans and JROTC with new $4 million workforce development program
Fermilab has created the new workforce development program in coordination with the Department of Energy’s Office of Science to offer military veterans and JROTC cadets valuable hands-on training experiences and full-time technical career placement at Fermilab.
Can a theory ever die?
Neglected theories will wilt and wither but can bloom again with enough attention.
Fermilab in the news
From Nature Italy May 20, 2022: CDF co-spokesperson Giorgio Chiarelli tells the story of how Italy contributed to the measurement of the W boson mass, opening a door on new physics. For more than 10 years after the Tevatron detector at Fermilab produced the last crashes between protons and antiprotons, the collaboration announced the most precise measure of the W boson mass ever achieved.
From the Nature Briefing, May 13, 2022: Based on data recorded with the CDF II detector at Fermilab between 2002 and 2011 at the Tevatron, the collaboration reconstructed more than 4 million W boson candidates through their decays into an electron or muon accompanied by the respective neutrino. The CDF Collaboration stated their result “suggests the possibility of improvements to the standard model calculation or of extensions to it”.
From USA News Hub, May 10,2022: The Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope, one of the most powerful cameras in the world just photographed two distant galaxies entwined in what’s been described as a “galactic ballet.” Read more about these amazing new images captured by the DECamera developed and tested at Fermilab.