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Experiments astatine CERN's particle collider suggest that antihelium particles created by acheronian substance successful distant abstraction could marque it to Earth
Physics 12 December 2022Dark substance could nutrient antimatter with precocious capable energies to transverse the galaxy sakkmesterke/Alamy
Antimatter from acold distant should beryllium tricky to find. It annihilates erstwhile it meets regular substance – and the much abstraction it crosses, the much chances determination are for these particles to conscionable their end. But an experimentation astatine a particle collider suggests that immoderate antimatter particles tin question crossed our postulation without getting destroyed.
In space, the antimatter version of helium atoms’ nuclei – the antihelium nuclei – are thought to signifier erstwhile cosmic rays collide with free-floating atoms. Theories suggest they besides originate erstwhile particles of dark matter, a mysterious substance that fills astir of the universe, annihilate with each other. If antinuclei made successful specified annihilations were detected, they could uncover caller properties of acheronian matter.
Stefan Königstorfer astatine the Technical University of Munich successful Germany and his colleagues astatine the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) wanted to spot whether antinuclei created successful abstraction could marque it to detectors successful Earth’s neighbourhood intact.
First, they measured however galore antihelium nuclei get destroyed erstwhile they deed regular substance wrong a particle collider. Using the ALICE detector astatine the CERN particle physics laboratory successful Switzerland, they analysed collisions of precise high-energy protons and charged atoms, which produced some helium nuclei and antihelium nuclei. Both should beryllium produced successful adjacent number, truthful the researchers counted however galore nuclei survived to infer however galore antinuclei annihilated against the steel, c and different materials that marque up the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector.
Königstorfer says they utilized this “disappearance probability” successful a machine simulation of antimatter’s travel towards Earth from distant space, specified arsenic the centre of our galaxy. Simulations of antinuclei being created by acheronian substance showed that astir fractional of specified particles would beryllium detectable adjacent Earth unscathed, adjacent aft traversing thousands of trillions of kilometres.
The researchers besides simulated antinuclei being created by cosmic rays, which are theorised to signifier astatine less places successful the beingness and typically with higher energies than those created by acheronian matter. They recovered that lone the astir energetic of them would scope Earth successful precocious numbers.
This shows that immoderate low-energy antihelium nuclei we observe connected Earth volition apt person travel from acheronian matter, says Jonas Tjemsland astatine the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
“This experimentation says that if immoderate astrophysical entity for immoderate crushed produces antihelium, we tin observe it adjacent Earth with modular detectors. And the signal-to-noise ratio volition beryllium precise precocious for acheronian matter,” says Tim Linden astatine Stockholm University successful Sweden.
Understanding however antinuclei interact with interstellar substance is 1 portion of the puzzle, but the LHC could besides analyse however they form, says Stefano Profumo astatine the University of California, Santa Cruz. He says that knowing this amended could assistance researchers fine-tune theories of acheronian matter.
Königstorfer and his colleagues are present readying specified experiments. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment astatine the International Space Station could observe antinuclei already, and different detector, General AntiParticle Spectrometer, carried by a balloon supra Antarctica, volition motorboat soon.
Journal reference: Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01804-8
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