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Searching Betelgeuse for Axions and Dark Matter
An MIT-led search for axions from nearby star Betelgeuse (pictured here) came up empty, significantly narrowing the search for hypothetical dark matter particle.
Credits: Image: Collage by MIT News. Betelgeuse image courtesy of ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/E. O’Gorman/P. Kervella
n impression on ordinary matter. As such, the ghost-like particle is a leading contender as a component of dark matter a hypothetical, invisible type of matter that is thought to make up 85 percent of the mass in the universe.
Axions have so far evaded detection. Physicists predict that if they do exist, they must be produced within extreme environments, such as the cores of stars at the precipice of a supernova. When these stars spew axions out into the universe, the particles, on encountering any surrounding magnetic fields, should briefly morph into photons and potentially reveal themselves.
Search for axions from nearby star Betelgeuse comes up empty
January 21, 2021MIT
Results significantly narrow the range of possible places to find the hypothetical dark matter particles.
The elusive axion particle is many times lighter than an electron, with properties that barely make an impression on ordinary matter. As such, the ghost-like particle is a leading contender as a component of dark matter a hypothetical, invisible type of matter that is thought to make up 85 percent of the mass in the universe.
Axions have so far evaded detection. Physicists predict that if they do exist, they must be produced within extreme environments, such as the cores of stars at the precipice of a supernova. When these stars spew axions out into the universe, the particles, on encountering any surrounding magnetic fields, should briefly morph into photons and potentially reveal themselves.
Physicists Achieve Best Ever Measurement of Fine-Structure Constant
Three times more precise than the previous record-holding determination, the result closely agrees with theoretical predictions but could still reveal pathways to new physics
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Researchers at the Kastler Brossel Laboratory in Paris have made the most precise measurement of one of the fundamental constants, called the fine-structure constant, providing physicists with a vital tool to verify the consistency of their most cherished theoretical models.
The fine-structure constant determines the strength of the electromagnetic force, and is central in explaining a number of phenomena including the interactions between light and charged elementary particles such as electrons. It is an important part of the equations of the Standard Model, a theory that predicts and describes all the known fundamental forces other than gravity namely electromagnetism as well as the weak and strong nuclear forces. The team in
When we consider the origins of life in our Solar System, a remarkable discovery has to be taken into account –the Solar System is substantially over-abundant in metals compared with average interstellar abundances at the time of its formation 4.6 billion years ago. These solar abundances are similar to present interstellar abundances, an anomaly that remains a mystery. One possibility scientists suggest is that the Sun formed much closer to the galactic center than its current position, which may have resulted in a plentiful supply of raw materials in the solar nebula from which to form the Earth and its biosphere.