10 Facts about Antimatter

Summary: Remember when this blog started and I tried to keep it focused solely on antimatter? That turned out to be too specific but I am once again able to get back to the heart of this blog. While not and advancement in antimatter studies, this is a recent article on ten facts you may not have known about antimatter. Contained within the article are helpful links to more topics related to antimatter that can quench your thirst for knowledge. Enjoy.

SymmetryMag

Two New Particles

Summary: You read that correctly. Amid all the excitement about the comet landing, researchers at CERN have detected two new particles with the LHCb experiment. These particles were predicted to exist by the quark model but had never been observed. And now we are pleased to introduce yo to Xi_b' and Xi_b*. Super exciting names I know but maybe they will become fancier in the future.
Both of these particles contain one beauty quark, one strange quark, and one down quark. They are more than six times as massive as the proton. They have different spins (a weird quantum mechanical property that describes their angular momentum).

So this is super exciting, because finding more proof for your theories is always good. And now I am off to find out why I have never heard of a beauty quark before. UPDATE: Apparently it is another name for the bottom quark.


Symmetry Mag

But Which Higgs?

Summary: So we found the Higgs Boson. Or at least a new particle that is incredibly similar to what we expected the Higgs to look like. But what is it really? While there is the very unexciting possibility that it completely fits the mold of the Standard Model version of the Higgs, there are still other possibilities and more exciting results that come as a bonus.


Symmetry Magazine

The Universe's Violent Youth

Summary: Scientists at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology found new evidence to support the prevalent theory of the universe having a violent stage mare than 10 billion years ago that was responsible for the initial creation of heavy elements. Using the Suzaku satellite they saw an even spread of iron between the galaxies. This means that iron was present in the intergalactic gas even before the Perseus cluster was formed; an observation which they speculate holds true for more than just this cluster. This would put the creation of these elements between 10 to 12 billion years ago, during a time of intense star formation and energetic black holes. Most of this iron was created by Type Ia supernovae that then rocketed out their material into space.

Symmetry

Nature

A Blow to Possible Dark Matter

Summary: This is sorta the opposite of the news I would like to tell you about, but it does help refine our search for the elusive particles.
Back in April, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment looked like it had captured three candidates for dark matter particles.These particles had a mass approximately nine times that of a proton. However, yesterday, scientists working on the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment made an announcement negating CDMS's results. They argued that if the particles found by CDMS were in fact dark matter particles, then the larger and more sensitive LUX experiment that they had run would have seen about 1600 of these in their first run. However, their first run came up empty. It is of course possible that there are WIMPs hiding in the data or maybe they will be seen on the second run, but until then we have hit another wall in our quest.



Symmetry
Scientific American

Dark Matter going Underground

Summary: A Dark Matter detecting experiment will be moving underground from it's current location at Fermilab in Chicago.

SymmetryMag: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/?p=16324

New particle found, possible Higgs

Summary: Scientists at CERN have announced the discovery of what seems to be a new particle. They do not know if it is the Higgs Boson, though it is in the right area, and they don't have a high enough degree of certainty to call it a formal discovery. However it is close enough to yield celebration all over the physics community. BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18702455 Symmetry Mag: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/2012/07/04/search-for-higgs-boson-at-large-hadron-collider-reveals-new-particle/ Video of press conference: cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1459604 Follow CERN on twitter for all the latest updates.

Cracks in the Standard Model?

Summary: "Recently analyzed data from the BaBar experiment show that one type of particle decay happens more often than predicted by the Standard Model.  This excess, seen with a “3.4 sigma” level of certainty, is not enough to claim a definitive break from the accepted theory, but it is a sign that something could well be amiss."
Basically, particles aren't decaying into different particles with the same frequency as predicted. If validated it could point to the Higgs particle having a charge and there would be a huge ripple effect seen in the Standard Model.


Symmetry Magazine: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/2012/06/18/babar-data-may-hint-at-new-physics/

The Muon

Ever wanted to learn what a muon is but don't have time for a long explanation? This is a very good 60 second lesson from Symmetry Magazine.

http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000955

C, the speed limit

The Icarus collaboration has proven that neutrinos do not violate the speed of light.

BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17364682

CERN Press release: http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2011/PR19.11E.html

Symmetry Magazine: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/2012/03/16/new-neutrino-measurement-finds-particles-obeying-speed-limit/

New data from the Tev

After sifting through more data from the Tevatron, there are hints of a particle between 115 and 135 GeV with a certainty of 2.2 sigma. (Not enough to call it a discovery.) The LHC has found a suggestive "bump" as well at the same mass even though the experiments conducted to get the data were extremely different.

BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17269647
Quantum Diaries: http://www.quantumdiaries.org/2012/03/07/the-higgs-boson-won%E2%80%99t-be-playing-hide-and-seek-much-longer/

Symmetry Magazine: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/2012/03/07/tevatron-experiments-see-possible-signs-of-the-higgs-boson-in-favored-region/