From Forbes, October 27, 2021: Fermilab’s Don Lincoln discusses the journey of the hypothetical sterile neutrino and the results of the MicroBooNE experiment hosted at Fermilab. Have sterile neutrinos been ruled out?
Standard Model
From the BBC, October 27, 2021: Yesterday, the MIcroBooNE collaboration opened a new chapter in physics with the announcement of their results; the search failed to find the particle, known as the sterile neutrino.
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.
From Fuentitech, October 19, 2021: Physicists have long wondered if muons, electrons, and other leptons make a difference other than mass. The latest LHCb results suggest that the answer may be “yes” by revealing two minor anomalies that continue the strange pattern of “lost” muons shown in recent data from the LHCb. In April, the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab also found a discrepancy from the Standard Model but future results may also shed light on these differences.
From Inverse, Sept. 28, 2021: Suspect number one at the center of the particle-filled mystery? The humble muon.
Scientists at CERN began studying the magnetism of muons in the 1950s, but in the 1990s this research moved stateside, first to Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island until 2001 and now to Fermilab.
From Scientific American, September 14, 2021: Fermilab theorist Marcela Carena writes about the ever changing behavior of muons and the first result of the Muon g-2 experiment that suggested muons were not acting as current theory prescribes in an article titled, “Weird muons may point to new particles and forces of nature,” posted in Scientific American.
From Forbes, Sept. 8, 2021: The Standard Model provides the framework of all the known and discovered fundamental particles, but has no way of providing expected values for what masses each particle should possess. Fermilab’s Main Ring, in operation for 25 years by physicists who used the accelerator for experiments, helped to create our current picture of the ultimate structure of matter, the Standard Model of particle interactions.
From Sciences et Avenir (France), August 6, 2021: Two recent physics experiments, Muon g-2 and the LHCb, have upset the whole physics of matter possibly finding new forces. Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment measured the muon’s magnetic moment confirming the Brookhaven result that revealed it didn’t match the theory.
From DOE.gov, August 2, 2021: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a plan to provide $100 million over the next four years for new research in high energy physics. Funding will support research and experiments that explore the frontiers of high energy physics. This includes Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment which aims to search for signs of physics beyond the standard model, scientists’ current best theory to describe the most basic building blocks of the universe.
From Portable TV, I Don’t Understand, July 18, 2021: William Shatner interviews Saskia Charity of Fermilab on what is a muon and the meaning of the Muon g-2 experiment result.