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The Global Community of Particle Physics

This account brings you hot items from public particle physics news sources, including CERN, SymmetryMagazine.org, and Interactions.org.

  • Listening to the radio on the far side of the moon

    2023-09-26T16:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Listening to the radio on the far side of the moon" LuSEE-Night will demonstrate whether an experiment to search for ancient radio signals can survive the moon’s unforgiving environment. https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/listening-to-the-radio-on-the-far-side-of-the-moon?utm_source=main_feed_click&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=main_feed&utm_content=click ( Feed URL: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/feed )
  • Tending to a giant

    2023-09-25T15:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Tending to a giant" In a race against the clock, CERN engineers and technicians pulled together to find and fix a leak inside the Large Hadron Collider. https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/tending-to-a-giant?utm_source=main_feed_click&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=main_feed&utm_content=click ( Feed URL: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/feed )
  • ATLAS measures strength of the strong force with record precision

    2023-09-25T10:27:13Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "ATLAS measures strength of the strong force with record precision" ATLAS measures strength of the strong force with record precision Binding together quarks into protons, neutrons and atomic nuclei is a force so strong, it’s in the name. The strong force, which is carried by gluon particles, is the strongest of all fundamental forces of nature – the others being electromagnetism, the weak force and gravity. Yet, it’s the least precisely measured of these four forces. In a paper just submitted to Nature Physics, the ATLAS collaboration describes how it has used the Z boson, the electrically neutral carrier of the weak force, to determine the strength of the strong force with an unprecedented uncertainty of below 1%. The strength of the strong force is described by a fundamental parameter in the Standard Model of particle physics called the strong coupling constant. While knowledge of the strong coupling constant has improved with measurements and theoretical developments made over the years, the uncertainty on its value remains orders of magnitude larger than that of the coupling constants for the other fundamental forces. A more precise measurement of the strong coupling constant is required to improve the precision of theoretical calculations of particle processes that involve the strong force. It is also needed to address important unanswered questions about nature. Could all of the fundamental forces be of equal strength at very high energy, indicating a potential common origin? Could new, unknown interactions be modifying the strong force in certain processes or at certain energies? In its new study of the strong coupling constant, the ATLAS collaboration investigated Z bosons produced in proton–proton collisions at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at a collision energy of 8 TeV. Z bosons are typically produced when two quarks in the colliding protons annihilate. In this weak-interaction process, the strong force comes into play through the radiation of gluons off the annihilating quarks. This radiation gives the Z boson a “kick” transverse to the collision axis (transverse momentum). The magnitude of this kick depends on the strong coupling constant. A precise measurement of the distribution of Z-boson transverse momenta and a comparison with equally precise theoretical calculations of this distribution allows the strong coupling constant to be determined. In the new analysis, the ATLAS team focused on cleanly selected Z-boson decays to two leptons (electrons or muons) and measured the Z-boson transverse momentum via its decay products. A comparison of these measurements with theoretical predictions enabled the researchers to precisely determine the strong coupling constant at the Z-boson mass scale to be 0.1183 ± 0.0009. With a relative uncertainty of only 0.8%, the result is the most precise determination of the strength of the strong force made by a single experiment to date. It agrees with the current world average of experimental determinations and state-of-the-art calculations known as lattice quantum chromodynamics (see figure below). This record precision was accomplished thanks to both experimental and theoretical advances. On the experimental side, the ATLAS physicists achieved a detailed understanding of the detection efficiency and momentum calibration of the two electrons or muons originating from the Z-boson decay, which resulted in momentum precisions ranging from 0.1% to 1%. On the theoretical side, the ATLAS researchers used, among other ingredients, cutting-edge calculations of the Z-boson production process that consider up to four “loops” in quantum chromodynamics. These loops represent the complexity of the calculation in terms of contributing processes. Adding more loops increases the precision. “The strength of the strong nuclear force is a key parameter of the Standard Model, yet it is only known with percent-level precision. For comparison, the electromagnetic force, which is 15 times weaker than the strong force at the energy probed by the LHC, is known with a precision better than one part in a billion,” says CERN physicist Stefano Camarda, a member of the analysis team. “That we have now measured the strong force coupling strength at the 0.8% precision level is a spectacular achievement. It showcases the power of the LHC and the ATLAS experiment to push the precision frontier and enhance our understanding of nature.” The new ATLAS value of the strong coupling constant compared with other measurements. (Image: ATLAS/CERN)  abelchio Wed, 09/20/2023 - 12:01 Publication Date Mon, 09/25/2023 - 10:00 https://home.cern/news/news/physics/atlas-measures-strength-strong-force-record-precision ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • ATLAS measures strength of the strong force with record precision

    2023-09-25T08:27:13Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "ATLAS measures strength of the strong force with record precision" ATLAS measures strength of the strong force with record precision Binding together quarks into protons, neutrons and atomic nuclei is a force so strong, it’s in the name. The strong force, which is carried by gluon particles, is the strongest of all fundamental forces of nature – the others being electromagnetism, the weak force and gravity. Yet, it’s the least precisely measured of these four forces. In a paper just submitted to Nature Physics, the ATLAS collaboration describes how it has used the Z boson, the electrically neutral carrier of the weak force, to determine the strength of the strong force with an unprecedented uncertainty of below 1%. The strength of the strong force is described by a fundamental parameter in the Standard Model of particle physics called the strong coupling constant. While knowledge of the strong coupling constant has improved with measurements and theoretical developments made over the years, the uncertainty on its value remains orders of magnitude larger than that of the coupling constants for the other fundamental forces. A more precise measurement of the strong coupling constant is required to improve the precision of theoretical calculations of particle processes that involve the strong force. It is also needed to address important unanswered questions about nature. Could all of the fundamental forces be of equal strength at very high energy, indicating a potential common origin? Could new, unknown interactions be modifying the strong force in certain processes or at certain energies? In its new study of the strong coupling constant, the ATLAS collaboration investigated Z bosons produced in proton–proton collisions at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at a collision energy of 8 TeV. Z bosons are typically produced when two quarks in the colliding protons annihilate. In this weak-interaction process, the strong force comes into play through the radiation of gluons off the annihilating quarks. This radiation gives the Z boson a “kick” transverse to the collision axis (transverse momentum). The magnitude of this kick depends on the strong coupling constant. A precise measurement of the distribution of Z-boson transverse momenta and a comparison with equally precise theoretical calculations of this distribution allows the strong coupling constant to be determined. In the new analysis, the ATLAS team focused on cleanly selected Z-boson decays to two leptons (electrons or muons) and measured the Z-boson transverse momentum via its decay products. A comparison of these measurements with theoretical predictions enabled the researchers to precisely determine the strong coupling constant at the Z-boson mass scale to be 0.1183 ± 0.0009. With a relative uncertainty of only 0.8%, the result is the most precise determination of the strength of the strong force made by a single experiment to date. It agrees with the current world average of experimental determinations and state-of-the-art calculations known as lattice quantum chromodynamics (see figure below). This record precision was accomplished thanks to both experimental and theoretical advances. On the experimental side, the ATLAS physicists achieved a detailed understanding of the detection efficiency and momentum calibration of the two electrons or muons originating from the Z-boson decay, which resulted in momentum precisions ranging from 0.1% to 1%. On the theoretical side, the ATLAS researchers used, among other ingredients, cutting-edge calculations of the Z-boson production process that consider up to four “loops” in quantum chromodynamics. These loops represent the complexity of the calculation in terms of contributing processes. Adding more loops increases the precision. “The strength of the strong nuclear force is a key parameter of the Standard Model, yet it is only known with percent-level precision. For comparison, the electromagnetic force, which is 15 times weaker than the strong force at the energy probed by the LHC, is known with a precision better than one part in a billion,” says CERN physicist Stefano Camarda, a member of the analysis team. “That we have now measured the strong force coupling strength at the 0.8% precision level is a spectacular achievement. It showcases the power of the LHC and the ATLAS experiment to push the precision frontier and enhance our understanding of nature.” The new ATLAS value of the strong coupling constant compared with other measurements. (Image: ATLAS/CERN)  abelchio Wed, 09/20/2023 - 12:01 Publication Date Mon, 09/25/2023 - 10:00 https://home.web.cern.ch/news/news/physics/atlas-measures-strength-strong-force-record-precision ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • Reducing cartel violence in Mexico, and what to read and see this fall

    2023-09-21T18:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Reducing cartel violence in Mexico, and what to read and see this fall" The key to shrinking cartels is cutting recruitment, and a roundup of books, video games, movies, and more   First up on this week’s show: modeling Mexico’s cartels. Rafael Prieto-Curiel, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how modeling cartel activities can help us understand the impact of potential interventions such as increased policing or reducing gang recruitment.    Lisa Sanchez, executive director of México Unido Contra la Delincuencia, talks with Sarah about just how difficult it would be to make the model results—which show that reducing recruitment is key—a reality.   Next on the show, Science books editor Valerie Thompson and books intern Jamie Dickman discuss a huge selection of science books, movies, video games, and even new exhibits—all due out this fall. See the complete roundup here.   This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.   About the Science Podcast   Authors: Sarah Crespi, Valerie Thompson, Jamie Dickman   Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk9453See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. https://omny.fm/shows/science-magazine-podcast-2/reducing-cartel-violence-in-mexico-and-what-to-rea ( Feed URL: http://www.sciencemag.org/rss/podcast.xml )
  • Join the world’s laboratories to celebrate the global search for dark matter

    2023-09-21T16:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Join the world’s laboratories to celebrate the global search for dark matter" Join the world’s laboratories to celebrate the global search for dark matter Press ReleaseLauren Thu, 09/21/2023 - 10:343023Everybody loves a mystery—and one of the biggest mysteries in particle physics is dark matter. Look around. Everything we can see, everything we know exists, makes up just 5 percent of the known universe. So, what is the other 95 percent?Astronomers and astrophysicists believe that approximately 25 percent of the missing mass and energy in the universe is made up of dark matter; the rest is dark energy. Experiments around the world continue to search for dark matter, yet this ubiquitous substance remains a mystery.Dark Matter Day, an international event, aims to shed light on that mystery through a series of events held on and around Halloween. These events, set to begin in late October and run through the end of the year, will highlight the global search for dark matter, the many fascinating ways scientists search for this elusive substance, and the value of devoting scientific resources to unraveling this cosmic riddle.Laboratories around the world will host live and virtual events, making Dark Matter Day accessible to a worldwide audience. To explore the many opportunities to participate in live and virtual events, visit the Dark Matter Day website.Though scientists have yet to detect dark matter, indirect evidence tells us it exists—in the gravitational effects of galaxies and the way light bends around unseen objects in space. Understanding the nature of dark matter will help us better understand the universe in which we live. But scientists are not sure yet what this mysterious substance is composed of, or whether the answer, when it comes, will require a complete re-write of our understanding of physics.A host of innovative experiments are searching for the source of dark matter using different types of tools, such as detectors built deep underground, powerful particle beams and telescopes based both on Earth and in space. For more on the global hunt for dark matter, visit the Interactions collaboration’s Dark Matter Hub.Sponsored by the Interactions Collaboration, an international community of particle physics communication specialists, Dark Matter Day celebrates the work being done in laboratories and institutions around the world, and shares what we do know about this cosmic puzzle with audiences worldwide.To find resources or to register your event, go to the Dark Matter Day website.Press Contact:Constance Walter Communications Director Sanford Underground Research Facilitycwalter@sanfordlab.org 605-722-4025 Interactions Collaboration AddressXeno Media18W100 22nd StSuite #103AOakbrook Terrace, IL60181United States 6305991550 https://www.xenomedia.comContact Infodarkmatterday@interactions.org  https://www.interactions.org/press-release/join-worlds-laboratories-celebrate-global-search-dark-matter ( Feed URL: http://www.interactions.org/index.rss )
  • What is neutral naturalness?

    2023-09-19T14:27:15Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "What is neutral naturalness?" Indirectly testing this theory, motivated by the mysterious mass of the Higgs boson, could be within reach for experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/what-is-neutral-naturalness?utm_source=main_feed_click&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=main_feed&utm_content=click ( Feed URL: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/feed )
  • Quest for the curious magnetic monopole continues

    2023-09-15T15:27:15Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Quest for the curious magnetic monopole continues" Quest for the curious magnetic monopole continues Magnets, those everyday objects we stick to our fridges, all share a unique characteristic: they always have both a north and a south pole. Even if you tried breaking a magnet in half, the poles would not separate – you would only get two smaller dipole magnets. But what if a particle could have a single pole with a magnetic charge? For over a century, physicists have been searching for such magnetic monopoles. A new study from the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) places new limits on these hypothetical particles, adding new clues for the continuing search. In 1931, physicist Paul Dirac proved that the existence of magnetic monopoles would be consistent with quantum mechanics and require — as has been observed — the quantisation of the electric charge. In the 1970s, magnetic monopoles were also predicted by new theories attempting to unify all the fundamental forces of nature, inspiring physicist Joseph Polchinski to claim that their existence was “one of the safest bets that one can make about physics not yet seen.” Magnetic monopoles might have been present in the early Universe but diluted to an unnoticeably tiny density during the early exponential expansion phase known as cosmic inflation.  Researchers at the ATLAS experiment are searching for pairs of point-like magnetic monopoles with masses of up to about 4 teraelectronvolts (TeV). These pairs could be produced in 13 TeV collisions between protons via two different mechanisms: “Drell-Yan”, in which a virtual photon produced in the collisions creates the magnetic monopoles, or “photon-fusion”, in which two virtual photons radiated by the protons interact to create the magnetic monopoles. The collaboration’s detection strategy relies on Dirac’s theory, which says that the magnitude of the smallest magnetic charge (gD) is equivalent to 68.5 times the fundamental unit of electric charge, the charge of the electron (e). Consequently, a magnetic monopole of charge 1gD would ionise matter in a similar way as a high-electric-charge object (HECO). When a particle ionises the detector material, ATLAS records the energy deposited, which is proportional to the square of the particle’s charge. Hence, magnetic monopoles or HECOs would leave large energy deposits along their trajectories in the ATLAS detector. Since the ATLAS detector was designed to record low-charge and neutral particles, the characterisation of these high-energy deposits is vital to the search for monopoles and HECOs. In their new study, the ATLAS researchers combed through the experiment’s full dataset from Run 2 of the LHC (2015–2018) in search of magnetic monopoles and HECOs. The search made use of the detector’s transition radiation tracker and the finely segmented liquid-argon electromagnetic calorimeter. The result places some of the tightest limits yet on the rate of production of magnetic monopoles. The search targeted monopoles of magnetic charge 1gD and 2gD and HECOs of electric charge 20e, 40e, 60e, 80e and 100e, with masses between 0.2 TeV and 4 TeV. Compared to the previous ATLAS search, the new result benefited from the larger, complete Run-2 dataset. This was also the first ATLAS analysis to consider the photon-fusion production mechanism. With no evidence of either magnetic monopoles or HECOs in the dataset, the ATLAS researchers established new limits on the production rate and mass of monopoles with a magnetic charge of 1gD and 2gD. ATLAS remains the experiment with the greatest sensitivity to monopoles in this charge range; the smaller LHC experiment MoEDAL-MAPP has previously studied a larger charge range and has also searched for monopoles with a finite size. ATLAS physicists will continue their quest to find magnetic monopoles and HECOs, further refining their search techniques and developing new strategies to study both Run-2 and Run-3 data. Find out more on the ATLAS website. abelchio Fri, 09/15/2023 - 13:38 Byline ATLAS collaboration Publication Date Fri, 09/15/2023 - 13:32 https://home.cern/news/news/physics/quest-curious-magnetic-monopole-continues ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • ALICE reports new charmonia measurements in LHC Run 3

    2023-09-15T15:27:15Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "ALICE reports new charmonia measurements in LHC Run 3" ALICE reports new charmonia measurements in LHC Run 3 3D drawing of the ALICE detector. (Image: ALICE)Earlier this month, almost 700 physicists from all over the world met in Houston, Texas, to attend the 30th edition of the Quark Matter conference, the largest conference in the field of heavy-ion physics. At this meeting, the ALICE collaboration presented its first results based on data collected with the upgraded detector in 2022, the first year of Run 3 of the LHC. Before the start of Run 3, ALICE underwent a major upgrade of its experimental apparatus to allow the recording of 50-100 times more Pb-Pb collisions and up to 500 times more proton-proton collisions than in previous runs. In addition, upgrades of the tracking detectors improved the pointing resolution by a factor 3-6. All in all, many new high-precision results will become available in the coming years. One of the new results presented at the Quark Matter conference was the measurement of the production of two different states of charmonia in proton-proton collisions. Charmonia are particles that consist of a charm and an anti-charm quark, with a total mass of about 3 GeV, more than 3 times that of the proton. Charmonia have a characteristic decay signature, producing an electron-positron pair or a positive and a negative muon.  There are a variety of charmonium states, with different binding energies, from the tightly bound J/ψ (binding energy of approximately 650 MeV) to the weakly bound – and two times larger – ψ(2S) (binding energy of 50 MeV). In heavy-ion collisions, these states melt in the quark–gluon plasma (QGP) and a reduced number of them is observed in the final state, a phenomenon known as charm suppression. Physicists can determine the temperature of the plasma by measuring how the different states are suppressed. Such measurements have played an important role in the field over the years, starting from early measurements at the SPS in the 1990s.  The key to measuring charmonium suppression is knowing the production rates. These rates can be determined by measuring the production of quarkonia in proton-proton collisions, where there is no suppression. This provides the reference for the measurements performed in Pb-Pb collisions.  The upgraded ALICE detector has a broad kinematic coverage that allows it to study J/ψ and ψ(2S) down to zero transverse momentum in two different and complementary regions. In the central region, charmonium is reconstructed from its decay into an e+e- pair in the central barrel detectors, while in the forward region it is detected in its decay channel µ+µ-, in the muon spectrometer.   The proton-proton statistics collected in LHC Runs 1 and 2 allowed ALICE to study the ψ(2S) yields in the forward region, but not in the central region. The data from 2022 represents an increase of the total number of collisions by a factor of 300, making it possible to measure the production rate of the ψ(2S) in the central region for the first time. The results, based on 500 billion minimum-bias proton-proton collisions, show that both the excited and the ground charmonium states can be accessed over the whole ALICE kinematic region and this will constrain the models of quarkonium production and open the way for more detailed measurements in the upcoming heavy-ion run.  Ratio of ψ(2S) to J/ψ in LHC Run 3 proton-proton collisions as a function of transverse momentum, showing ALICE’s capability for measurements of the excited and ground charmonium states in the central (red points) and forward (black points) region. (Image: ALICE) ptraczyk Fri, 09/15/2023 - 12:21 Byline ALICE collaboration Publication Date Fri, 09/15/2023 - 11:52 https://home.cern/news/news/physics/alice-reports-new-charmonia-measurements-lhc-run-3 ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • Quest for the curious magnetic monopole continues

    2023-09-15T12:27:16Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Quest for the curious magnetic monopole continues" Quest for the curious magnetic monopole continues Magnets, those everyday objects we stick to our fridges, all share a unique characteristic: they always have both a north and a south pole. Even if you tried breaking a magnet in half, the poles would not separate – you would only get two smaller dipole magnets. But what if a particle could have a single pole with a magnetic charge? For over a century, physicists have been searching for such magnetic monopoles. A new study from the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) places new limits on these hypothetical particles, adding new clues for the continuing search. In 1931, physicist Paul Dirac proved that the existence of magnetic monopoles would be consistent with quantum mechanics and require — as has been observed — the quantisation of the electric charge. In the 1970s, magnetic monopoles were also predicted by new theories attempting to unify all the fundamental forces of nature, inspiring physicist Joseph Polchinski to claim that their existence was “one of the safest bets that one can make about physics not yet seen.” Magnetic monopoles might have been present in the early Universe but diluted to an unnoticeably tiny density during the early exponential expansion phase known as cosmic inflation.  Researchers at the ATLAS experiment are searching for pairs of point-like magnetic monopoles with masses of up to about 4 teraelectronvolts (TeV). These pairs could be produced in 13 TeV collisions between protons via two different mechanisms: “Drell-Yan”, in which a virtual photon produced in the collisions creates the magnetic monopoles, or “photon-fusion”, in which two virtual photons radiated by the protons interact to create the magnetic monopoles. The collaboration’s detection strategy relies on Dirac’s theory, which says that the magnitude of the smallest magnetic charge (gD) is equivalent to 68.5 times the fundamental unit of electric charge, the charge of the electron (e). Consequently, a magnetic monopole of charge 1gD would ionise matter in a similar way as a high-electric-charge object (HECO). When a particle ionises the detector material, ATLAS records the energy deposited, which is proportional to the square of the particle’s charge. Hence, magnetic monopoles or HECOs would leave large energy deposits along their trajectories in the ATLAS detector. Since the ATLAS detector was designed to record low-charge and neutral particles, the characterisation of these high-energy deposits is vital to the search for monopoles and HECOs. In their new study, the ATLAS researchers combed through the experiment’s full dataset from Run 2 of the LHC (2015–2018) in search of magnetic monopoles and HECOs. The search made use of the detector’s transition radiation tracker and the finely segmented liquid-argon electromagnetic calorimeter. The result places some of the tightest limits yet on the rate of production of magnetic monopoles. The search targeted monopoles of magnetic charge 1gD and 2gD and HECOs of electric charge 20e, 40e, 60e, 80e and 100e, with masses between 0.2 TeV and 4 TeV. Compared to the previous ATLAS search, the new result benefited from the larger, complete Run-2 dataset. This was also the first ATLAS analysis to consider the photon-fusion production mechanism. With no evidence of either magnetic monopoles or HECOs in the dataset, the ATLAS researchers established new limits on the production rate and mass of monopoles with a magnetic charge of 1gD and 2gD. ATLAS remains the experiment with the greatest sensitivity to monopoles in this charge range; the smaller LHC experiment MoEDAL-MAPP has previously studied a larger charge range and has also searched for monopoles with a finite size. ATLAS physicists will continue their quest to find magnetic monopoles and HECOs, further refining their search techniques and developing new strategies to study both Run-2 and Run-3 data. Find out more on the ATLAS website. abelchio Fri, 09/15/2023 - 13:38 Byline ATLAS collaboration Publication Date Fri, 09/15/2023 - 13:32 https://home.web.cern.ch/news/news/physics/quest-curious-magnetic-monopole-continues ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • ALICE reports new charmonia measurements in LHC Run 3

    2023-09-15T12:27:16Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "ALICE reports new charmonia measurements in LHC Run 3" ALICE reports new charmonia measurements in LHC Run 3 3D drawing of the ALICE detector. (Image: ALICE)Earlier this month, almost 700 physicists from all over the world met in Houston, Texas, to attend the 30th edition of the Quark Matter conference, the largest conference in the field of heavy-ion physics. At this meeting, the ALICE collaboration presented its first results based on data collected with the upgraded detector in 2022, the first year of Run 3 of the LHC. Before the start of Run 3, ALICE underwent a major upgrade of its experimental apparatus to allow the recording of 50-100 times more Pb-Pb collisions and up to 500 times more proton-proton collisions than in previous runs. In addition, upgrades of the tracking detectors improved the pointing resolution by a factor 3-6. All in all, many new high-precision results will become available in the coming years. One of the new results presented at the Quark Matter conference was the measurement of the production of two different states of charmonia in proton-proton collisions. Charmonia are particles that consist of a charm and an anti-charm quark, with a total mass of about 3 GeV, more than 3 times that of the proton. Charmonia have a characteristic decay signature, producing an electron-positron pair or a positive and a negative muon.  There are a variety of charmonium states, with different binding energies, from the tightly bound J/ψ (binding energy of approximately 650 MeV) to the weakly bound – and two times larger – ψ(2S) (binding energy of 50 MeV). In heavy-ion collisions, these states melt in the quark–gluon plasma (QGP) and a reduced number of them is observed in the final state, a phenomenon known as charm suppression. Physicists can determine the temperature of the plasma by measuring how the different states are suppressed. Such measurements have played an important role in the field over the years, starting from early measurements at the SPS in the 1990s.  The key to measuring charmonium suppression is knowing the production rates. These rates can be determined by measuring the production of quarkonia in proton-proton collisions, where there is no suppression. This provides the reference for the measurements performed in Pb-Pb collisions.  The upgraded ALICE detector has a broad kinematic coverage that allows it to study J/ψ and ψ(2S) down to zero transverse momentum in two different and complementary regions. In the central region, charmonium is reconstructed from its decay into an e+e- pair in the central barrel detectors, while in the forward region it is detected in its decay channel µ+µ-, in the muon spectrometer.   The proton-proton statistics collected in LHC Runs 1 and 2 allowed ALICE to study the ψ(2S) yields in the forward region, but not in the central region. The data from 2022 represents an increase of the total number of collisions by a factor of 300, making it possible to measure the production rate of the ψ(2S) in the central region for the first time. The results, based on 500 billion minimum-bias proton-proton collisions, show that both the excited and the ground charmonium states can be accessed over the whole ALICE kinematic region and this will constrain the models of quarkonium production and open the way for more detailed measurements in the upcoming heavy-ion run.  Ratio of ψ(2S) to J/ψ in LHC Run 3 proton-proton collisions as a function of transverse momentum, showing ALICE’s capability for measurements of the excited and ground charmonium states in the central (red points) and forward (black points) region. (Image: ALICE) ptraczyk Fri, 09/15/2023 - 12:21 Byline ALICE collaboration Publication Date Fri, 09/15/2023 - 11:52 https://home.web.cern.ch/news/news/physics/alice-reports-new-charmonia-measurements-lhc-run-3 ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • VI Forum internazionale del Gran Sasso

    2023-09-15T08:27:15Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "VI Forum internazionale del Gran Sasso" Dal 28 al 30 settembre 2023, presso l’Università degli Studi di Teramo, si terrà il VI Forum internazionale del Gran Sasso, evento che in continuità con i precedenti e con il II meeting internazionale “La Scienza per la Pace”, Nuovi discepoli della conoscenza: il metodo scientifico nel cambiamento d’epoca, intende entrare con maggiore specificità nella vita della comunità accademica affrontando nodi importanti per sviluppare le proposte di ricerca e di formazione. Read More ... https://www.lngs.infn.it/en/news/vi-forum-gs ( Feed URL: http://www.lngs.infn.it/en/news/rss )
  • Why cats love tuna, and powering robots with tiny explosions

    2023-09-14T18:27:15Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Why cats love tuna, and powering robots with tiny explosions" Receptors that give our feline friends a craving for meat, and using combustion to propel insect-size robots   First up on this week’s episode, Online News Editor David Grimm joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about why despite originating from a dry, desert environment cats seem to love to eat fish.   Next on the show, bugs such as ants are tiny while at the same time fast and strong, and small robots can’t seem to match these insectile feats of speed and power. Cameron Aubin, a postdoc at Cornell University who will shortly join the University of Michigan, discusses using miniscule combustion reactions to bring small robots up to ant speed.   Finally in a sponsored segment from the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Jackie Oberst, associate editor for custom publishing, discusses with Bobby Soni, chief business officer at the BioInnovation Institute, an international life science incubator in Copenhagen, Denmark, what it takes to bring a product from lab to market and how to make the leap from scientist to entrepreneur. This segment is sponsored by the BioInnovation Institute.   This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.   About the Science Podcast   Authors: Sarah Crespi, David Grimm   Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk8409 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. https://omny.fm/shows/science-magazine-podcast-2/why-cats-love-tuna-and-powering-robots-with-tiny-e ( Feed URL: http://www.sciencemag.org/rss/podcast.xml )
  • Archeo.Metalli: la giornata conclusiva del convegno internazionale ai Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso

    2023-09-14T15:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Archeo.Metalli: la giornata conclusiva del convegno internazionale ai Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso" Si è concluso oggi ai Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso il convegno internazionale Archeo.Metalli organizzato dall’Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II” - Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici e dal nodo dei Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso - CHNet (Cultural Heritage network), la rete dell’Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) per i beni culturali.  Read More ... https://www.lngs.infn.it/en/news/archeo-metalli-lngs-14-09 ( Feed URL: http://www.lngs.infn.it/en/news/rss )
  • Accelerating stroke prevention

    2023-09-13T16:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Accelerating stroke prevention" Accelerating stroke prevention   The complex system of the CERN accelerator chain requires immense precision in order to operate. To address this need, CERN researchers developed artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that predict and diagnose anomalies, minimising failures and keeping our infrastructure working around the clock. The same algorithms have the potential to improve people’s lives when applied to complications that occur in the human body. The CAFEIN* platform was developed at CERN in collaboration with Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and Politecnico di Milano in Italy to address challenges in both fundamental research and medicine. In particular, in the latter, it enables the detection of pathologies in the human body (such as brain pathologies) and predicts the risk of disease recurrence. Among brain pathologies, stroke is one of the leading causes of severe disability worldwide. It is associated with a significant social and economic burden, which will dramatically increase over the coming decades due to the ageing population. By correctly assessing a stroke patient’s risks and potential outcome, it is possible to provide improved and personalised treatment to help prevent relapse. The TRUSTroke project** was developed to ensure that as many patients as possible are treated and to reduce the numbers of patients discharged too early from hospital. Under the coordination of Vall d'Hebron, a leading healthcare campus in Barcelona, CERN and eleven other partners from across Europe joined forces to assist clinicians, caregivers, and patients by creating AI algorithms using data confined to the hospital environment, which is the key feature of the CAFEIN platform. This approach, which uses local data samples without exchanging them, is known as Federated Learning (FL), and it can guarantee the confidentiality of patient data by sharing only the necessary information without sharing any individual’s personal data. “AI algorithms trained using FL platforms like CAFEIN are being applied more and more in the medical domain, where privacy prevents the sharing of personal data. In addition to the ongoing TRUSTroke project, CERN’s developments are being used at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in brain-pathology screening using MRIs or, more recently, to develop risk-based cancer screening tools with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).”, says Luigi Serio, principal scientist in the Technology Department at CERN. Two online public events have been organised to provide more information on the project: “TRUSTroke webinar on Federated Learning” on 28 September, 12.00 p.m. More information: https://indico.cern.ch/e/trustrokewebinar. “How AI and a CERN federated learning platform can assist clinicians in the management of stroke patients” on 29 September, 9.00 a.m. More information: https://indico.cern.ch/e/trustroke. ---------- * The Computer-Aided deFEcts detection, Identification and classificatioN (CAFEIN) project has received support from the CERN budget for knowledge transfer to medical applications through a grant awarded in 2019. https://kt.cern/kt-fund/projects/cafein-federated-network-platform-development-and-deployment-ai-based-analysis-and **The TRUSTroke project is funded by the European Union in the call HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-two-stage under grant agreement No. 101080564 ndinmore Wed, 09/13/2023 - 11:48 Byline Kristiane Bernhard-Novotny Marzena Lapka Publication Date Wed, 09/13/2023 - 11:42 https://home.cern/news/news/knowledge-sharing/accelerating-stroke-prevention ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • Accelerating stroke prevention

    2023-09-13T12:27:16Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Accelerating stroke prevention" Accelerating stroke prevention   The complex system of the CERN accelerator chain requires immense precision in order to operate. To address this need, CERN researchers developed artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that predict and diagnose anomalies, minimising failures and keeping our infrastructure working around the clock. The same algorithms have the potential to improve people’s lives when applied to complications that occur in the human body. The CAFEIN* platform was developed at CERN in collaboration with Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and Politecnico di Milano in Italy to address challenges in both fundamental research and medicine. In particular, in the latter, it enables the detection of pathologies in the human body (such as brain pathologies) and predicts the risk of disease recurrence. Among brain pathologies, stroke is one of the leading causes of severe disability worldwide. It is associated with a significant social and economic burden, which will dramatically increase over the coming decades due to the ageing population. By correctly assessing a stroke patient’s risks and potential outcome, it is possible to provide improved and personalised treatment to help prevent relapse. The TRUSTroke project** was developed to ensure that as many patients as possible are treated and to reduce the numbers of patients discharged too early from hospital. Under the coordination of Vall d'Hebron, a leading healthcare campus in Barcelona, CERN and eleven other partners from across Europe joined forces to assist clinicians, caregivers, and patients by creating AI algorithms using data confined to the hospital environment, which is the key feature of the CAFEIN platform. This approach, which uses local data samples without exchanging them, is known as Federated Learning (FL), and it can guarantee the confidentiality of patient data by sharing only the necessary information without sharing any individual’s personal data. “AI algorithms trained using FL platforms like CAFEIN are being applied more and more in the medical domain, where privacy prevents the sharing of personal data. In addition to the ongoing TRUSTroke project, CERN’s developments are being used at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in brain-pathology screening using MRIs or, more recently, to develop risk-based cancer screening tools with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).”, says Luigi Serio, principal investigator in the Technology Department at CERN. Two online public events have been organised to provide more information on the project: “TRUSTroke webinar on Federated Learning” on 28 September, 12.00 p.m. More information: https://indico.cern.ch/e/trustrokewebinar. “How AI and a CERN federated learning platform can assist clinicians in the management of stroke patients” on 29 September, 9.00 p.m. More information: https://indico.cern.ch/e/trustroke. ---------- * The Computer-Aided deFEcts detection, Identification and classificatioN (CAFEIN) project has received support from the CERN budget for knowledge transfer to medical applications through a grant awarded in 2019. https://kt.cern/kt-fund/projects/cafein-federated-network-platform-development-and-deployment-ai-based-analysis-and **The TRUSTroke project is funded by the European Union in the call HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-two-stage under grant agreement No. 101080564 ndinmore Wed, 09/13/2023 - 11:48 Byline Kristiane Bernhard-Novotny Marzena Lapka Publication Date Wed, 09/13/2023 - 11:42 https://home.web.cern.ch/news/news/knowledge-sharing/accelerating-stroke-prevention ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • Imagining the future of gravitational-wave research

    2023-09-12T17:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Imagining the future of gravitational-wave research" To understand why scientists are excited about detecting a new background, just look to the history of studies of the CMB. https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/imagining-the-future-of-gravitational-wave-research?utm_source=main_feed_click&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=main_feed&utm_content=click ( Feed URL: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/feed )
  • Come funziona il Sole spiegato da Gallex e Borexino

    2023-09-12T13:27:13Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Come funziona il Sole spiegato da Gallex e Borexino" Simposio Internazionale La fisica dei neutrini solari ai Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. Se non ci fossero stati loro, non conosceremmo il Sole come lo conosciamo oggi: è grazie a Gallex e Borexino, gli esperimenti per rivelare i neutrini solari che hanno operato nelle sale sperimentali sotterranee dei Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso dell’INFN Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, se sappiamo spiegare come funziona la nostra stella. Read More ... https://www.lngs.infn.it/en/news/gallex-borex-12-09 ( Feed URL: http://www.lngs.infn.it/en/news/rss )
  • Accelerating circular fashion

    2023-09-11T13:27:13Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Accelerating circular fashion" Accelerating circular fashion Currently, only 1% of textile waste is recycled into new clothes. Recycling textile polymers is a costly and challenging task, as is the separation and recycling of blended textiles – complex mixtures of different fibres, often cotton or wool with synthetic materials. Could particle accelerators solve the problem of textile waste and contribute to circular fashion? The student team proposed to separate textile fibres using an electron beam from a Van de Graff accelerator. (Image: FabRec team)This was the subject of the winning project at this summer’s challenge-based innovation event, held by the EU-funded I.FAST project. A multi-disciplinary team of students proposed the use of an electron beam to segregate different fabric components through electrostatic separation. This would be done with used and unused clothes and the separated components would be reintroduced into the manufacturing cycle of recycled clothes. The event explored how accelerator technologies could address environmental issues. It brought together 24 students of 14 different nationalities, with as many different backgrounds: physics and engineering, as well as environmental science, communication and sociology. Three other projects were presented: studying pollen sterilisation of invasive plants; investigating innovative methods to recycle solar panels; and examining in-situ corrosion prevention of offshore wind turbines. The next edition of the I.FAST-CBI project will take place in summer 2024 and will focus on the topic “Accelerators for Health”. Applications will open in December 2023. Find out more on the I.FAST website. For more examples of the impact on society of accelerator technologies and expertise, visit CERN's Contribute to society webpage. katebrad Fri, 09/08/2023 - 10:37 Publication Date Mon, 09/11/2023 - 10:40 https://home.web.cern.ch/news/news/knowledge-sharing/accelerating-circular-fashion ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )
  • Accelerating circular fashion

    2023-09-11T09:27:14Z via NavierStokesApp To: Public

    "Accelerating circular fashion" Accelerating circular fashion Currently, only 1% of textile waste is recycled into new clothes. Recycling textile polymers is a costly and challenging task, as is the separation and recycling of blended textiles – complex mixtures of different fibres, often cotton or wool with synthetic materials. Could particle accelerators solve the problem of textile waste and contribute to circular fashion? The student team proposed to separate textile fibres using an electron beam from a Van de Graff accelerator. (Image: FabRec team)This was the subject of the winning project at this summer’s challenge-based innovation event, held by the EU-funded I.FAST project. A multi-disciplinary team of students proposed the use of an electron beam to segregate different fabric components through electrostatic separation. This would be done with used and unused clothes and the separated components would be reintroduced into the manufacturing cycle of recycled clothes. The event explored how accelerator technologies could address environmental issues. It brought together 24 students of 14 different nationalities, with as many different backgrounds: physics and engineering, as well as environmental science, communication and sociology. Three other projects were presented: studying pollen sterilisation of invasive plants; investigating innovative methods to recycle solar panels; and examining in-situ corrosion prevention of offshore wind turbines. The next edition of the I.FAST-CBI project will take place in summer 2024 and will focus on the topic “Accelerators for Health”. Applications will open in December 2023. Find out more on the I.FAST website. For more examples of the impact on society of accelerator technologies and expertise, visit CERN's Contribute to society webpage. katebrad Fri, 09/08/2023 - 10:37 Publication Date Mon, 09/11/2023 - 10:40 https://home.cern/news/news/knowledge-sharing/accelerating-circular-fashion ( Feed URL: http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/feed )