Particle astrophysics is a research area at the interface of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology that investigates fundamental particles and their interactions using astrophysical sources and environments. It focuses on high-energy messengers such as cosmic rays, gamma rays, neutrinos, and, increasingly, gravitational waves to probe processes in extreme settings like supernovae, active galactic nuclei, compact object mergers, and the early universe. The field seeks to constrain particle properties, test physics beyond the Standard Model, study dark matter and dark energy candidates, and elucidate acceleration and propagation mechanisms through multi-messenger observations and advanced detection techniques.
Researchers hope to use neutrinos to find the sources of cosmic radiation. New algorithms out of Bochum are aiding in the search, and have also eliminated a few candidates.
Astronomy
Aug 22, 2025
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Two recent studies by Professor Stefano Profumo at the University of California, Santa Cruz, propose theories that attempt to answer one of the most fundamental open questions in modern physics: What is the particle nature ...
General Physics
Aug 4, 2025
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Neutrinos are subatomic particles with no charge and very little mass that are known to weakly interact with other matter in the universe. Due to their weak interactions with other particles, these particles are notoriously ...
The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE, also known as "Wukong") Collaboration has obtained a high-precision cosmic-ray boron spectrum in the energy range of 10 GeV/n–8 TeV/n, and discovered a spectral "hardening" phenomenon ...
Astronomy
Jul 3, 2025
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Everything in space—from Earth and the sun to black holes—accounts for just 15% of all matter in the universe. The rest of the cosmos seems to be made of an invisible material astronomers call dark matter.
Astronomy
Jun 24, 2025
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Researchers, in a recent Physical Review Letters paper, introduce a new mechanism that may finally allow ultralight dark photons to be considered serious candidates for dark matter, with promising implications for detection ...
A USC-led research team has created a series of supercomputer-simulated twins of our Milky Way galaxy—which could help scientists unlock new answers about one of the biggest mysteries in the universe: dark matter, the invisible ...
Astronomy
Jun 16, 2025
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A cosmic particle detector in Antarctica has detected a series of bizarre signals that defy the current understanding of particle physics, according to an international research group that includes scientists from Penn State. ...
General Physics
Jun 13, 2025
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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 ...
General Physics
Jun 3, 2025
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Tracking the sources of photons is a hobby of many astrophysicists. Some types of photons are tied so closely to particular phenomena that tracking their sources would help answer some larger questions in astrophysics itself.
Astronomy
May 16, 2025
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