photons

A collaboration between the University of Chicago and Fermilab have developed an axion detector called BREAD. It was built to search for dark photon dark matter and the first results showed that BREAD is very sensitive in its frequency range.

From Phys.org, Jan. 25, 2023: Researchers at Fermilab, Northwestern University and Stanford University recently demonstrated an entirely new method for searching for meV dark matter. The group is testing a hypothesis that when the rest energy of a dark photon matches the energy splitting of the two lowest cyclotron levels, the first state of the electron cyclotron will be excited.

The ATLAS experiment at CERN sees possible evidence of quark-gluon plasma production during collisions between photons and heavy nuclei inside the Large Hadron Collider.

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.

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.

From Berkeley Lab, Feb. 17, 2021: Fermilab is part of a team of national labs that designed, built and fully tested a prototype magnet for today’s and tomorrow’s light sources. These light sources let scientists see things once thought impossible. They can use these visions to create more durable materials, build more efficient batteries and computers, and learn more about the natural world.

From University of Birmingham, Jan. 13, 2021: Fermilab will take part in an international collaboration, led by Cardiff University, on quantum-enhanced interferometry for new physics. The project’s four table-top experiments may help explore new parameter spaces of photon-dark matter interaction, and seek answers to the long-standing question at the heart of modern science: How can gravity be united with the other fundamental forces?

From Mission Unstoppable, Jan. 26, 2021: Fermilab scientist Jessica Esquivel explains how light particles work with makeup to create a look.