Archive

Illustration of a giant toddler on a trike.

05/06/25

The freckled universe

There’s a new class of cosmic object in town. And it might just overturn our understanding of black holes and galaxy evolution.

Illustration of a slot machine displaying physics symbols

04/29/25

Spot the difference

LHCb’s discovery of proton-like particles behaving differently than their antimatter counterparts brings scientists one step closer to finding out why antimatter disappeared in the early universe.

Conceptual illustration of a photographic darkroom in which images of the universe are being developed

04/23/25

Sharpening our cosmic focus

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is gearing up to illuminate the universe’s darkest secrets with groundbreaking new technology.

Conceptual illustration that features a woman looking at a drop of water versus snorkeling in the water

04/15/25

Explain it in 60 seconds: big data

How do you solve a problem like big data?

Conceptual illustration of someone looking at DESI and a tree that has both green and brown leaves

04/08/25

A new side to dark energy steps into the light

The long and continuing quest to understand dark energy has entered exciting new territory.

Illustration of two dogs hula hooping in front of an audience

04/01/25

Don’t call it toponium

A large and unexpected excess of top quark pairs has the physics community excited, but the interpretation is still up for debate.

03/25/25

A new piece in the matter-antimatter puzzle

The LHCb experiment at CERN has revealed a fundamental asymmetry in the behavior of particles called baryons.

DESI’s instrument, a long black cylinder supported by the metal telescope framework, points at the domed ceiling. The dome interior is bathed in blue light.

03/19/25

New DESI results strengthen hints that dark energy may evolve

Combining the DESI data with other experiments shows signs that the impact of dark energy may be weakening over time—and the standard model of how the universe works may need an update.

03/18/25

Scientists recall the discovery of the top quark 30 years ago at Fermilab

On March 2, 1995, the top quark discovery at Fermilab was announced by scientists on the CDF and DZero collaborations, and the sixth and final quark was added to the Standard Model.

Illustration of four physicists profiled in the article

03/12/25

From the lab to the classroom

Most students who earn a PhD in physics build careers outside of research. Meet four physicists who went from particle physics research to teaching high school physics and math.

Conceptual illustration of a firehose shooting out particles

02/26/25

Explain it in 60 seconds: High-Luminosity LHC

The upgrade to the Large Hadron Collider will allow scientists to better study known phenomena and to search for new ones.

02/18/25

Why do neutrinos rarely interact?

Neutrinos are notoriously aloof, but it’s not entirely their fault.

Illustrated portraits of four DUNE photographers

02/11/25

Photographing DUNE

Documenting the work of building the world’s largest neutrino experiment presents photographers with a unique set of challenges.

01/28/25

How do scientists get lead into the LHC?

Once a year, the Large Hadron Collider smashes lead ions. But how do scientists get a heavy metal into a particle accelerator?

Illustration of a scientist "listening" for background noise

01/23/25

Bringing background to the forefront

SNOLAB scientists meticulously measure the signals that interfere with sensitive physics experiments.

The LSSTCam covers 21 times more area on the sky in every image

01/15/25

Testing, testing!

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just successfully completed a series of full-system tests using an engineering test camera.