A precise calibration for measurements of electric current has long eluded scientists. Last year, the ampere was redefined based on the charge of a single electron. The next generation of charge-coupled devices, known as skipper CCDs, could provide the sensitivity needed to calibrate the new definition.
Tag: dark matter
Three students awarded DOE Graduate Student Research Fellowships
Three students have received the prestigious Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research Fellowships to conduct their research at Fermilab. DOE awarded these fellowships to 52 students from U.S. universities.
Hubble Observations Suggest a Missing Ingredient in Dark Matter Theories
Astronomers using Hubble and the VLT have found that something may be missing from the theories of how dark matter behaves. This missing ingredient may explain why they have uncovered an unexpected discrepancy between observations of the dark matter concentrations in a sample of massive galaxy clusters and theoretical computer simulations of how dark matter should be distributed in clusters. The new findings indicate that small-scale concentrations of dark matter produce lensing effects that are 10 times stronger than expected.
Sensors of world’s largest digital camera snap first 3,200-megapixel images at SLAC
Crews at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have taken the first 3,200-megapixel digital photos – the largest ever taken in a single shot – with an extraordinary array of imaging sensors that will become the heart and soul of the future camera of Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
Galaxy Simulations Could Help Reveal Origins of Milky Way
Rutgers astronomers have produced the most advanced galaxy simulations of their kind, which could help reveal the origins of the Milky Way and dozens of small neighboring dwarf galaxies. Their research also could aid the decades-old search for dark matter, which fills an estimated 27 percent of the universe. And the computer simulations of “ultra-faint” dwarf galaxies could help shed light on how the first stars formed in the universe.
New NSF Physics Frontier Center Will Focus on Neutron Star Modeling in ‘Gravitational Wave Era’
A new Physics Frontier Center at UC Berkeley, supported by the National Science Foundation, expands the reach and depth of existing capabilities on campus and at neighboring Berkeley Lab in modeling one of the most violent events in the universe: the merger of neutron stars and its explosive aftermath.
Dark Energy Survey census of the smallest galaxies hones the search for dark matter
Scientists on the Dark Energy Survey have used observations of the smallest known galaxies to better understand dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up 85% of the matter in the universe. The smallest galaxies can contain hundreds to thousands of times more dark matter than normal visible matter, making them ideal laboratories for studying this mysterious substance. By performing a rigorous census of small galaxies surrounding our Milky Way, scientists on the Dark Energy Survey have been able to constrain the fundamental particle physics that governs dark matter.
Drones Help Calibrate Radio Telescope at Brookhaven Lab
Cosmologists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory are experimenting with a prototype radio telescope, called the Baryon Mapping Experiment (BMX). Built at the Lab in 2017, the prototype serves as a testbed for managing radio interference and developing calibration techniques. Lessons learned from the prototype could pave the way for Brookhaven to develop a much larger radio telescope in collaboration with other national Labs, universities, and international partners.
SENSEI gets quiet
A good dark matter detector has a lot in common with a good teleconference setup: You need a sensitive microphone and a quiet room. The SENSEI experiment has demonstrated world-leading sensitivity and the low background needed for an effective search for low-mass dark matter.
Rupak Mahapatra: Then and Now
Rupak Mahapatra is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University.
CUORE Underground Experiment in Italy Carries on Despite Pandemic
As the COVID-19 outbreak took hold in Italy, researchers working on a nuclear physics experiment called CUORE at an underground laboratory in central Italy scrambled to keep the ultrasensitive experiment running and launch new tools and rules for remote operations.
Study: Could Dark Matter Be Hiding in Existing Data?
A new study, led by researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley, suggests new paths for catching the signals of dark matter particles that have their energy absorbed by atomic nuclei.
The Milky Way’s satellites help reveal link between dark matter halos and galaxy formation
Just like we orbit the sun and the moon orbits us, the Milky Way has satellite galaxies with their own satellites. Drawing from data on those galactic neighbors, a new model suggests the Milky Way should have an additional 100 or so very faint satellite galaxies awaiting discovery.
New Technique Looks for Dark Matter Traces in Dark Places
A new study by scientists at Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley, and the University of Michigan – published online this week in the journal Science – concludes that a possible dark matter-related explanation for a mysterious light signature in space is largely ruled out.
Researchers look for dark matter close to home
Eighty-five percent of the universe is composed of dark matter, but we don’t know what, exactly, it is.
Connecting the dots in the sky could shed new light on dark matter
Astrophysicists have come a step closer to understanding the origin of a faint glow of gamma rays covering the night sky. They found that this light is brighter in regions that contain a lot of matter and dimmer where matter is sparser – a correlation that could help them narrow down the properties of exotic astrophysical objects and invisible dark matter.
Hubble Detects Smallest Known Dark Matter Clumps
Using Hubble and a new observing technique, astronomers have uncovered the smallest clumps of dark matter ever detected. Dark matter is an invisible
substance that makes up most of the universe’s mass and forms the scaffolding upon which galaxies are built.
Cosmic Ray Tool Repaired in Space
Astronauts are extending the life of the DOE’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station.
How to Build a 3D Map of the Universe – and Why
In the 1980s, Saul Perlmutter at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and his collaborators realized that they could use data about supernovae to research the history of the universe. They expected to see that very distant supernovae appear a bit brighter than they would in an expanding universe that wasn’t slowing in its growth.
The data revealed something else entirely.
Fermilab launches new institute for quantum science
Today the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced the launch of the Fermilab Quantum Institute, which will bring all of the lab’s quantum science projects under one umbrella. This new enterprise signals Fermilab’s commitment to this burgeoning field, working alongside scientific institutions and industry partners from around the world.
Dark Matter Experiment’s Central Component Takes a Deep Dive – Nearly a Mile Underground
Last week, crews at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota strapped the central component of LUX-ZEPLIN – the largest direct-detection dark matter experiment in the U.S. – below an elevator and s-l-o-w-l-y lowered it 4,850 feet down a shaft formerly used in gold-mining operations.
EXPLORING MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
The University of Delaware’s Swati Singh is using quantum systems to understand astrophysical phenomena and has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to advance her work.
Deep Learning Reveals Mysteries of Deep Space
The Science How do you determine the measurable “things” that describe the nature of our universe? To answer that question, researchers used CosmoFlow, a deep learning technique, running on a National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center supercomputer. They analyzed large,…
SLAC sends off woven grids for LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter detector
Four large meshes made from 2 miles of metal wire will extract potential signals of dark matter particles. The ultra-sensitive LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) detector is scheduled to begin its search for elusive dark matter next year. At its core: a large…