From Gizmodo, April 9, 2018: Some folks are excited about an especially tiny (and especially weird) dark matter candidate that happens to be named after a laundry detergent: the axion. Fermilab is a collaborator on the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment, and scientists on ADMX at the University of Washington think they’re ready to spot this theoretical particle.
dark matter
From Motherboard, April 10, 2018: New results from the Axion Dark Matter Experiment, on which Fermilab is a collaborating institution, suggest that it is now well-tuned enough to detect axions, a theoretical low-mass particle that many physicists believe may account for dark matter.
From Science News, April 9, 2018: For the first time, physicists are snooping on some of the likeliest hiding places for hypothetical subatomic particles called axions, which could make up dark matter. So far, no traces of the particles have been found, scientists with the Axion Dark Matter Experiment, ADMX, report April 9 in Physical Review Letters.
New result draws on 30 years of research and development and begins the definitive search for axion particles.
From Science News, Jan. 26, 2018: Fermilab scientist Dan Hooper comments on the possibility of clumps of dark matter sailing through the Milky Way and other galaxies.
A hidden world of particles awaits.
From New Scientist, Jan. 11, 2018: Fermilab scientist Dan Hooper is quoted in this piece about the possible origins of a potential source of dark matter in the cosmos.
Scientists on the Dark Energy Survey announced the public release of their first three years of data. This first major release of data includes information on about 400 million astronomical objects.
From Engadget, Nov. 29, 2017: Fermilab’s Dark Energy Survey is featured in this story and video about the search for dark matter.
SLAC engineer Knut Skarpaas designs some of physics’ most challenging machines, finding inspiration in unexpected places.