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Category: particle physics – Page 25

The Empty Atom Myth: Why “Nothing” Isn’t Empty at All

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We’ve all heard the claim: atoms are mostly empty space. That if you zoomed in far enough, you’d find 99.9999999999999% of an atom is just… nothing. But this idea, while popular, is deeply misleading.

In this video, we dive into the quantum reality behind that empty space — and reveal what truly fills the “void” inside atoms. From the discovery of the nucleus to the rise of quantum field theory, we’ll explore how jittering fields, zero-point energy, and vacuum fluctuations reshape our understanding of what “nothing” really is.

Along the way, you’ll learn:

Why Rutherford’s model gave birth to the “empty atom” idea.

Continue reading “The Empty Atom Myth: Why “Nothing” Isn’t Empty at All” | >

Precision Spectroscopy Reaffirms Gap Between Theory and Experiment

New physics may explain discrepant values for the ionization energy of a metastable state of helium.

In the search for new physics beyond the standard model of particle physics, a significant discrepancy between theory and experiment attracts attention, especially in a simple atomic system such as helium. Recently, evidence has appeared for a 9 discrepancy in the ionization energy of the metastable triplet state of helium-4 (4He) [1, 2]. This stands out like a sore thumb in a field where theory and experiment are both highly accurate and normally in agreement. However, in assessing the validity of the discrepancy, there is always the possibility that something has been overlooked or miscalculated. Now Gloria Clausen and Frédéric Merkt of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich have released the results of their latest research [3] in a series of high-precision experiments [1, 4]. Their results (Fig.

Memory matters for quantum atomic motion on metals

In a variety of technological applications related to chemical energy generation and storage, atoms and molecules diffuse and react on metallic surfaces. Being able to simulate and predict this motion is crucial to understanding material degradation, chemical selectivity, and to optimizing the conditions of catalytic reactions. Central to this is a correct description of the constituent parts of atoms: electrons and nuclei.

An electron is incredibly light—its mass is almost 2,000 times smaller than that of even the lightest nucleus. This mass disparity allows to adapt rapidly to changes in nuclear positions, which usually enables researchers to use a simplified “adiabatic” description of atomic motion.

While this can be an excellent approximation, in some cases the electrons are affected by nuclear motion to such an extent that we need to abandon this simplification and account for the coupling between the dynamics of electrons and nuclei, leading to so-called “non-adiabatic effects.”

Decades-long experiment finds muon still behaving unexpectedly

Final results from a long-running U.S.-based experiment announced Tuesday show a tiny particle continues to act strangely—but that’s still good news for the laws of physics as we know them.

“This experiment is a huge feat in precision,” said Tova Holmes, an experimental physicist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who is not part of the collaboration.

The mysterious particles called are considered heavier cousins to electrons. They wobble like a top when inside a , and scientists are studying that motion to see if it lines up with the foundational rulebook of physics called the Standard Model.

Researchers unveil axion-torsion coupling via dark photons

A new study has revealed a novel effect caused by dark photons—hypothetical particles thought to make up a portion of the universe’s elusive dark matter. This discovery, made within the framework of Einstein–Cartan–Holst gravity, provides new insights into the fundamental interactions between matter and gravity.

The study was conducted by Prof. Gao Zhifu from the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Dr. Luiz Carlos Garcia de Andrade from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Their findings, which include the first identification of a key physical quantity known as the Barbero–Immirzi (BI) parameter induced by dark photons, are published in The European Physical Journal C.

A large portion of the universe is filled with invisible matter known as , and the dark photon is one of its leading theoretical candidates. As a hypothetical particle beyond the Standard Model, the dark photon exhibits electromagnetic-like interactions through kinetic mixing with the ordinary photon. Unlike photons, however, dark photons possess mass and interact much more weakly with charged particles.

Unveiling under-the-barrier electron dynamics in strong field tunneling

Tunneling is a peculiar quantum phenomenon with no classical counterpart. It plays an essential role for strong field phenomena in atoms and molecules interacting with intense lasers. Processes such as high-order harmonic generation are driven by electron dynamics following tunnel ionization.

While this has been widely explored, the behavior of electrons under the tunneling barrier, though equally significant, has remained obscure. The understanding of laser-induced strong field ionization distinguishes two scenarios for a given system and : the multiphoton regime at rather low intensities and tunneling at high intensities.

However, most strong-field experiments have been carried out in an intermediate situation where multiphoton signatures are observed while tunneling is still the dominant process.

Study shows how scientists can use black holes as supercolliders

As federal funding cuts impact decades of research, scientists could turn to black holes for cheaper, natural alternatives to expensive facilities searching for dark matter and similarly elusive particles that hold clues to the universe’s deepest secrets, a new Johns Hopkins study of supermassive black holes suggests.

The findings, which appear in Physical Review Letters, could help complement multi-billion-dollar expenses and decades of construction needed for research complexes like Europe’s Large Hadron Collider, the largest and highest-energy particle accelerator in the world.

“One of the great hopes for particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider is that it will generate particles, but we haven’t seen any evidence yet,” said study co-author Joseph Silk, an astrophysics professor at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Oxford, UK.

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