Scientists of the Collider Detector at Fermilab collaboration have achieved the most precise measurement to date of the mass of the W boson, one of nature’s force-carrying particles. The measured value shows tension with the value expected based on the Standard Model of particle physics.
Four complementary analyses by Fermilab’s MicroBooNE show no signs of a theorized fourth kind of neutrino known as the sterile neutrino. Its existence is considered a possible explanation for anomalies seen in previous physics experiments.
The NOvA collaboration has released the result of its latest measurement of neutrino oscillations. The results provide greater insight into neutrino properties, specifically mass ordering and charge parity symmetry.
Ground-breaking image reconstruction and analysis algorithms developed for surface-based MicroBooNE detector filter out cosmic ray tracks to pinpoint elusive neutrino interactions with unprecedented clarity.
The Dark Energy Survey collaboration has created the largest ever maps of the distribution and shapes of galaxies, tracing both ordinary and dark matter in the universe out to a distance of over 7 billion light years. The analysis, which includes the first three years of data from the survey, is consistent with predictions from the current best model of the universe, the standard cosmological model. Nevertheless, there remain hints from DES and other experiments that matter in the current universe is a few percent less clumpy than predicted.
A new computer program called MARLEY simulates supernova neutrino interactions in argon-based particle detectors.
Quantum bits acting as particle detectors offer a fast and highly reliable means of solving one of the great mysteries in physics: the nature of dark matter. This new method promises a more efficient way to detect dark matter candidates by improving the experimental signal-to-noise ratio.
The first results from the Muon g-2 experiment hosted at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory show fundamental particles called muons behaving in a way not predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics. These results confirm an earlier experiment of the same name performed at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Combined, the two results show strong evidence that our best theoretical model of the subatomic world is incomplete. One potential explanation would be the existence of undiscovered particles or forces.
To fully realize the potential of quantum computing, scientists must start with the basics: developing step-by-step procedures, or algorithms, for quantum computers to perform simple tasks. A Fermilab scientist has done just that, announcing two new algorithms that build upon existing work in the field to further diversify the types of problems quantum computers can solve.
U.S. CMS physicists from Fermilab and associated universities collaborating under the umbrella of the LPC make up a team that is the first to perform a new kind of search for “stealthy” supersymmetry that does not result in an obvious signature of large energy imbalance. Instead, the LPC team is looking for collisions that result in an unusually large number of particles in the detector. CMS recently published a briefing explaining their analysis.