Dark matter, which makes up approximately 80% of the universe's matter, interacts weakly with ordinary matter and may consist of new particles or axions.
The researchers plan to search for both candidates using quantum technologies such as superfluid helium-3 and superconducting quantum amplifiers.
The team's efforts build upon earlier work by JJ Thompson and Michael Thompson in particle physics.
UK scientists are developing quantum detectors to observe dark matter in laboratories.
Approximately 80% of the universe's matter remains unseen and is known as dark matter. Scientists from various universities in the UK, including Lancaster University, University of Oxford, and Royal Holloway, University of London, are working together to build the most sensitive quantum detectors to date using ultra-low temperatures. These detectors aim to observe dark matter directly in laboratories and potentially solve one of science's greatest enigmas.
Dark matter is believed to interact weakly with ordinary matter and may consist of new particles or axions, which are extremely light but abundant. The researchers plan to search for both candidates using quantum technologies such as superfluid helium-3 cooled into a macroscopic quantum state and instrumented with superconducting quantum amplifiers.
The collaboration between these universities is significant because the goal is to observe this mysterious matter directly in the laboratory. The team's efforts build upon earlier work by researchers like JJ Thompson, who discovered the electron, and Michael Thompson, who pioneered particle physics. They are using Helium-3 as a target for interactions with hypothetical light dark matter particles due to its quantum properties that can amplify tiny signals from collisions.
The team has already built a detector at Royal Holloway, University of London, and plans to exhibit it at the ongoing Summer Science Exhibition for public interaction. The researchers' work is crucial in understanding the universe's composition and unlocking new discoveries.
Dark matter constitutes approximately 80% of the matter in the universe and is constantly passing through us.
Scientists from Lancaster University, the University of Oxford, and Royal Holloway, University of London are building the most sensitive dark matter detectors to date using quantum technologies at ultra-low temperatures.
If dark matter is made from axions, they will be extremely light, more than a billion times lighter than a hydrogen atom but correspondingly more abundant.
Accuracy
About 80 percent of the universe's matter is dark and attempts to detect it have failed to date.
The team is searching for two possible dark matter candidates: new particles with ultra-weak interactions and very light wave-like particles called axions.
Researchers at multiple universities in the UK have built the coldest quantum detectors in the world to detect dark matter.
The detectors function at temperatures just above a 10,000th of a degree above absolute zero.
About 80 percent of the universe’s matter is dark and attempts to detect it have failed to date.
Particle physics suggests that there are two likely dark matter candidates: wave-like particles called axions and new particles with extremely weak interactions.
The researchers are attempting to observe both these candidates with their detectors using ultra-low-temperature refrigerators built in the 1980s and 90s, which can cool anything to absolute zero using helium-3.
Helium-3 is a fitting target for interactions with hypothetical light dark matter particles as it is one of the lightest elements and its quantum properties can amplify tiny signals from collisions with various particles.
The team has built a detector for operations at Royal Holloway, University of London, that will be open for the public to interact with at the ongoing Summer Science Exhibition.
Accuracy
The team is searching for two possible dark matter candidates: new particles with ultra-weak interactions and very light wave-like particles called axions.
Deception
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None Found At Time Of
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Fallacies
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The author makes several scientific statements that are not fallacies but rather accurate descriptions of the research being conducted. However, there is one instance of an appeal to authority when Michael Thompson states that 'the discovery would be as significant as discovering gravitational waves or the Higgs boson or even the electron.' While this statement may be true, it does not provide any logical reasoning for why the detectors will find dark matter and instead relies on the authority of Thompson's expertise.
“We know almost nothing about dark matter, so we don’t know how or if this could be used in our everyday lives, but the discovery would be as significant as discovering gravitational waves or the Higgs boson or even the electron.”
University of Oxford researchers are participating in a cross-continental particle beam experiment to detect and study neutrinos.
Dr. Georgina Donati’s research at the University of Oxford explores early development and how studying infants’ movements can help understand early brain activity.
Accuracy
Dark matter makes up 85% of the universe, but scientists have difficulty studying it directly due to its invisible nature.
Dark matter constitutes approximately 80% of the matter in the universe and is constantly passing through us.
Quantum sensors utilize concepts of quantum mechanics, such as quantum entanglement and superposition, for extreme sensitivity and accuracy in measuring physical quantities.
Quantum entanglement allows for the measurement of correlations with extreme precision, far surpassing classical sensors' capabilities.
Quantum superposition enables particles to occupy multiple positions or energy levels at once, providing a richer set of data points for measurement and crucial for the high sensitivity required in dark matter detection.
Atomic interferometry is a cornerstone technique in quantum sensing for dark matter exploration, detecting tiny perturbations caused by the presence of dark matter.
Helium Quantum Evaporation Sensors use Helium-3 atoms trapped in superfluid Helium-4 as quantum sensors for dark matter detection.
Accuracy
Quantum entanglement allows for the measurement of correlations with extreme precision, far surpassing classical sensors’ capabilities.
Integration of quantum sensors with other detection technologies enhances their capabilities and allows for cross-verification of dark matter signals.
