The coevolution of particle physics and computing

Illustration of four scientists in white lab coats, two of whom are typing, two of whom are looking at and drawing on a screen with equations and 3D images.

The coevolution of particle physics and computing

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Over time, particle physics and astrophysics and computing have built upon one another’s successes. That coevolution continues today. New physics experiments require computing innovation, including cluster computing for the Tevatron, and more recently machine learning and quantum problem-solving.

Bringing the whole self to science

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The Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science helps students and professionals find community.

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Curious physics results could shed light on dark matter

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Even experiments that aren’t looking for dark matter directly, such as Muon g-2, could give us hints about the mysterious substance that permeates our universe.

Teaching a particle detector new tricks

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Scientists from Fermilab and other institutions hoping to find new, long-lived particles at the Large Hadron Collider recently realized, with CMS, they may already have the detector to do it.

Cartoon of three balls in different shades of pink popping out of doors marked for the three different kinds of neutrinos: tau, muon and electron. To the right of them, three tiny scientists in white lab coats on scaffolding.

The search for the sterile neutrino

Back when it was theorized, scientists weren’t sure they would ever detect the neutrino. Now scientists, including some at Fermilab, are searching for a version of the particle that could be even more elusive.

Photo of a dome-shaped building, likely an observatory, atop a mountain, which gold mist surrounds. Blue sky and silhouette of birds above.

Homebound astrophysicists miss mountaintops

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, travel bans and stay-at-home orders meant astrophysicists collaborating on the Dark Energy Survey needed to find a new way to conduct their observations using the Dark Energy Camera.

Two hockey players that resemble rock-em-sock-em robot toys shake hands on a rink. The one on the left is red and has a dome for a torso with the number 18 on the sleeve. On the right, the player is blue, with Fermilab's Wilson Hall as the torso and 87 on the sleeve. It holds a hockey stick.

The odd(eron) couple

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Scientists discovered a new particle by comparing data recorded at the Large Hadron Collider and the Tevatron.

An illustration of lots of yellow dots on a light pink background. Some have rainbows or smiley faces on them. One has lines coming out it that make it look star-like. One dot is shiny and red. In the center, there is a white dot. Some glare appears to emanate from the white dot.

What is a photon?

photons

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Quanta of light called photons are the smallest possible packets of electromagnetic energy. Learn the history behind how scientists came to understand photons — and what these particles have shown us (and might show us) they can do.

A person wearing a hardhat stands inside a bright yellow honeycomb-like box that appears to be two or three times their height.

Argonaut project launches design effort for super-cold robotics

Fermilab scientists are developing one of the most cold-tolerant robots ever made so they can monitor the interiors of particle detectors. The project has already garnered some interest from engineers at other research institutions, including NASA.

Three factoid cards, which look similar to playing cards or a baseball card, appear on a background of stars in a night sky (or in outer space) in a cartoon rendering. On each of the cards is a circle adjusted its sunglasses, presumably each a type of neutrino. Underneath these images on the cards are scribbles representing text and a question mark. In the upper left corner, the abbreviations for electron neutrino, a muon neutrino or a tau neutrino appear.

Which neutrino is the heaviest?

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Figuring out which type of neutrino is heaviest, or solving the puzzle of neutrino mass hierarchy, would be a huge leap in our understanding of both neutrinos and the physics that govern our universe. The NoVA experiment or DUNE could help physicists do just that.

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