Open AccessSmall Particle May Answer Large Physics Questions
Author(s) -
Andrew U. Hazi
Publication year - 2005
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/883622
Subject(s) - astroparticle physics , physics , axion , cosmology , particle (ecology) , astronomy , astrophysics , universe , observatory , particle physics , theoretical physics , dark matter , oceanography , geology
In one of those interesting intersections of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), the University of Florida (UF), and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) have joined together to try to pin down an elusive particle. This particle, called the axion, if it is found to exist and is not just a hypothesis, would be a long-sought relic from the first fractional second of the birth of the universe and one of the most weakly interacting particles known. Experimental verification of the existence of the axion would not only help ''balance the budget'' for the missing mass of the universe but also clear up one of the thorniest issues in particle physics