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Researchers develop novel approach to modeling yet-unconfirmed rare nuclear process

Physicists at Michigan State University's Facility for Rare Isotope Beams have developed a new method to model neutrinoless double-beta decay, a yet-unconfirmed rare nuclear process with significant implications for particle physics and cosmology. The novel approach, known as the In-Medium Generator-Coordinate Method, enables controlle...

T2K insight into the origin of the universe

Researchers at Lancaster University's T2K experiment have found that almost half of the possible parameter values governing matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe have been disfavoured. This discovery suggests a basic property of neutrinos, one of the fundamental particles making up the Universe.

SourceLancaster University·JournalNature·DateApr 15, 2020

Researchers look for dark matter close to home

A new study from the University of Michigan and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found no evidence that sterile neutrinos are dark matter. The research team used archival data from the XMM-Newton space X-ray telescope to search for signs of dark matter in the Milky Way galaxy, but their analysis yielded no results.

SourceUniversity of Michigan·JournalScience·DateMar 26, 2020

Surprising neutrino decoherence inside supernovae

A new study reveals that neutrinos produced in the core of a supernova are highly localized compared to all other known sources. Theoretical wave packet size is irrelevant in simpler cases, providing a more solid foundation for standard neutrino behavior theories.

SourceSpringer·JournalThe European Physical Journal C·DateJul 12, 2016

Neutrino detectors could help curb nuclear weapons activity

A team of scientists from Virginia Tech has proposed using neutrino detectors to monitor plutonium production in Iran's Arak reactor. The technology can detect antineutrinos produced by fission of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, providing high-level monitoring not currently offered by any other technique.

SourceVirginia Tech·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateAug 11, 2014

New view of supernova death throes

A new three-dimensional model of supernova collapse reveals the role of turbulent mixing in expanding, contracting and ejecting elements before explosion. This breakthrough insight into the death throes of stars sheds light on the formation of elements necessary for life on Earth.

SourceAmerican Institute of Physics·JournalAIP Advances·DateMar 18, 2014

Massive neutrinos solve a cosmological conundrum

Scientists have combined Planck spacecraft and gravitational lensing observations to accurately measure the mass of ghostly sub-atomic particles called neutrinos for the first time. The team finds that massive neutrinos can explain the discrepancies between cosmological results and observations of large-scale structures in the Universe.

SourceUniversity of Manchester·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateFeb 10, 2014

The future of Fermilab

Fermilab is shifting focus from high-energy particle collisions to lower-energy interactions with intense beam intensities. Two neutrino experiments and Project X, a $1-2bn proton accelerator, are planned to explore rare decays and heavy nuclei.

SourceIOP Publishing·JournalPhysics World·DateJan 31, 2012