{"id":3394,"date":"2021-12-13T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3394"},"modified":"2021-12-01T01:50:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T01:50:22","slug":"physicists-detect-neutrinos-at-the-large-hadron-collider-in-a-landmark-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/physicists-detect-neutrinos-at-the-large-hadron-collider-in-a-landmark-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Physicists Detect Neutrinos At the Large Hadron Collider In a Landmark First"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If middle school and high school science has taught us anything about particle physics, it\u2019s that atoms are composed of three primary components: protons<\/em>, neutrons<\/em>, and electrons<\/em>. These three particles, when combined in various ways and in varying amounts, make up all the elements of the periodic table, enabling the different necessary chemical reactions that power ourselves and our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are a lot more particles out there than just those that make up the atoms in your skin and clothes; in fact, some of the so-called \u201cpieces\u201d of atoms are themselves just a combination of even smaller constituents\u2014so small that they instead operate on the realm of quantum physics, thus \u201cliving\u201d by a slightly different set of rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These data simulations from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and at CERN showcase the possible decay of the Higgs boson after it is produced by the collision of two protons traveling at excessively high speeds. (Taylor\/CERN, 1997) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While not participatory in any nearby protons or neutrons, neutrinos<\/em> are themselves a bit of a mystery, even to quantum physicists. These oddball subatomic particles, together with electrons, the quarks <\/em>that form your favorite protons and neutrons, and the rest of their complicated family, form the backbone of reality that we call the Standard Model<\/em> of particle physics.
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As the name suggests, neutrinos are neutral<\/em> in charge, much like their much bigger neutron cousins; that means they don\u2019t really feel like following the rules set by any nearby electromagnetic fields. These neutrinos also possess mass, although they are so small that most physicists once thought they were actually massless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, these neutrinos are subatomic particles that are difficult to detect, and are impossible to observe with just visible light. In fact, the Sun is our primary source of neutrinos; it produces so much that there are about 65 billion neutrinos that pass through every square centimeter of our planet\u2019s surface every second\u2014yet both we and our detectors barely feel a thing. This is the reason why these particles bear the nickname of \u201cghost particles<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hundreds of signatures from scientists and other parties litter the bottom of the MINERvA (Main Injector Neutrino ExpeRiment to study v-A interactions) neutrino detector, located inside the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. (Keys<\/a>, 2011) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The world of particle physics may be in for a shake-up, however, given the recent reports from the world-famous Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which made headlines nearly a decade ago for reporting the detection of the long-predicted Higgs boson<\/em>. The facility\u2019s FASERnu (Forward Search Experiment) neutrino subdetector recently announced that it had detected these elusive neutrinos for the first time, with their findings published in the journal Physical Review D<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Prior to this project, no sign of neutrinos has ever been seen at a particle collider,” said FASER Collaboration co-head Jonathan Feng, from the University of California Irvine (UCIrvine). “This significant breakthrough is a step toward developing a deeper understanding of these elusive particles and the role they play in the Universe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FASERnu is actually one of nine current particle physics experiments at the LHC, and is a type of detector known as an emulsion<\/em> detector<\/em>. They are called as such due to the use of emulsion layers, sandwiched between layers of lead (Pb) and tungsten (W) plates. Scientists hope that passing neutrinos collide with the lead and tungsten atomic nuclei, which then hopefully produce particle by-products that leave tracks within the emulsion not dissimilar to bullets traveling through layers of bulletproof glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are other neutrino detector facilities out there, ones like those within the LHC are special due to the fact that they specifically target neutrinos produced by the accelerator, which have been difficult to detect thus far. This makes the landmark find by the FASER Collaboration the first of its kind in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said FASER co-head David Casper, who\u2019s also from UCIrvine: “Given the power of our new detector and its prime location at CERN, we expect to be able to record more than 10,000 neutrino interactions in the next run of the LHC, beginning in 2022. “We will detect the highest-energy neutrinos that have ever been produced from a human-made source.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of now, the FASERnu neutrino detector scientists hope to work their way up in order to hopefully detect and measure physical phenomena at the cutting edge of physics, such as dark matter<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n