Fermilab features

The evolution of one of the most critical components of the Mu2e experiment, the production target, is a testament to the strength of the team putting it together.

After 32 years as Fermilab’s staff photographer, Reidar Hahn is retiring – and saying farewell with a final collection of photos in Fermilab’s art gallery. The exhibit will run from Nov. 6, 2019, to Jan. 3, 2020, with a free artist’s reception on Nov. 8.

On Oct. 1, Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and members of the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board visited Fermilab to see first-hand its world-class facilities for exploring particle physics, accelerator science and technology, and quantum science.

Look out, oil spills. The concept of using floating magnets for cleaning up oil spills, which started as a demonstration in a 9-ounce cup, is now a full-scale prototype — thanks to an agreement between Fermilab’s Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer and Natural Science LLC.

Scientists working at CERN have started tests of a new neutrino detector prototype using a promising technology called “dual phase.” If successful, this new technology will be used at a much larger scale for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted by Fermilab. Scientists began operating the dual-phase prototype detector at CERN at the end of August and have observed first tracks. The new technology may be game-changing, as it would significantly amplify the faint signals that particles create when moving through the detector.

With an increasing underground workforce, the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility has undertaken multiple projects to ensure worker safety. Working closely with Sanford Lab staff, LBNF recently completed an upgrade to emergency systems, including areas of refuge and evacuation capabilities.

Fermilab and the University of Bern in Switzerland have signed an agreement to develop detector components for the laboratory’s neutrino experiments. The agreement is the first of its kind between Fermilab and a Swiss university.

A collaboration led by Fermilab and Stanford University combines their expertise in quantum science and accelerator technologies to build the world’s largest atom interferometer. The instrument will push the boundaries of quantum physics into macroscopic scales, providing a gateway for dark matter searches and tests of gravitational waves.

For the first time, a team at Fermilab has cooled and operated a superconducting radio-frequency cavity — a crucial component of superconducting particle accelerators — using cryogenic refrigerators, breaking the tradition of cooling cavities by immersing them in a bath of liquid helium. The demonstration is a major breakthrough in the effort to develop lean, compact accelerators for medicine, the environment and industry.

Solving equations in neutrino physics, a trio of theorists doing research at Fermilab discovered a mathematical identity that had eluded mathematicians for centuries. Working with Field Medal winner Terence Tao, they now have derived formal proofs of the new identity.