The Standard Model of particle physics, sometimes called "The Theory of Almost Everything," is the best set of equations to date that describes the universe's fundamental particles and how they interact. Yet the theory has holes—including the absence of an adequate explanation for gravity, the inability to explain the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the early universe, which gave rise to the stars and galaxies, and the failure to identify fundamental dark matter particles or account for dark energy.
Researchers now have a new tool to aid in the search for physics beyond the good, but yet incomplete Standard Model. An international team of scientists has designed and tested a magnetic shield that is the first to achieve an extremely low magnetic field over a large volume. The device provides more than 10 times better magnetic shielding than previous state-of-the art shields. The record-setting performance makes it possible for scientists to measure certain properties of fundamental particles at higher levels of precision—which in turn could reveal previously hidden physics and set parameters in the search for new particles.
The researchers describe the new magnetic shield in a paper in the Journal of Applied Physics.
High precision measurements are one of three frontiers to search for physics beyond the Standard Model, explained Tobias Lins, a doctoral student who worked on the new magnetic shield in the research lab of Professor Peter Fierlinger at the Technische Universität München in Germany. The precision measurements complement other methods to search for new physics, including slamming particles together in a collider to generate new, high-energy particles, and peering into space to catch signals from the early universe.
"Precision experiments are able to probe nature up to energy scales which might not be accessible by current and next generation collider experiments," Lins said. That's because the existence of exotic new particles can slightly alter the properties of already known particles. A tiny deviation from the expected properties may indicate that an as-yet-undiscovered fundamental particle inhabits the "particle zoo."
The researchers built the new shield out of several layers of a special alloy, composed of nickel and iron, that has a high degree of magnetic permeability—meaning it can act like a sponge to absorb and redirect an applied magnetic field, like the earth's own magnetic field or fields generated by equipment such as motors and transformers.
"The apparatus might be compared to cuboid Russian nesting dolls," Lins said. "Like the dolls, most layers can be used individually and with an increasing number of layers the inside is more and more protected."
The team's big breakthrough came from in-depth numerical modeling of the arrangement of the precision treated magnetizable alloy, resulting in significantly optimized design details, like thickness, connections and spacing of layers.
The materials in magnetic shields change their magnetization due to environmental influences, like temperature changes and vibrations caused by passing cars, and these shifts can be passed to the inside of the shield. The thinner sheets in the new design enabled a better balancing of the magnetic field in the metal, resulting in the smallest and most homogenous magnetic field ever created within the shielded space, even beating the average ambient magnetic field of the interstellar medium.
New Experiments Ahead
Plans are already underway to use the new magnetic shield in an experiment to test limits for the distribution of charges (called the electric dipole moment, or EDM) of an isotope of xenon. An EDM that is higher than predicted by the Standard Model could signal the existence of a new particle whose mass is linked to the amount by which the EDM deviates from the expected value.
The researchers also want to use a modified SQUID detector—which can detect extremely subtle magnetic fields—to search for long theorized, but never detected magnetic monopoles. Within the magnetically quiet space inside the shield, a monopole passing by the SQUID might produce a magnetic field higher than the background noise level, Lins said.
Explore further:
Physicists discover quantum-mechanical monopoles
More information:
"A large-scale magnetic shield with 10^6 damping at millihertz frequencies," by I. Altarev, M. Bales, D. H. Beck, T. Chupp, K. Fierlinger, P. Fierlinger, F. Kuchler, T. Lins, M. G. Marino, B. Niessen, G. Petzoldt, U. Schläpfer, A. Schnabel, J. T. Singh, R. Stoepler, S. Stuiber, M. Sturm, B. Taubenheim and J. Voigt. Journal of Applied Physics May 12, 2015. DOI: 10.1063/1.4919366
TimLong2001
rufusgwarren
rufusgwarren
Sorry, don't get what you are doing. Looking for gold in a copper mine?
EWH
Anybody who puts the least credence in the possibility of magnetic monopoles is simply a crank who doesn't understand electromagnetism. All four of Maxwell's equations in relativistic (Lorentz-invariant) form reduce to the simple requirement that the gradient of the field is equal to the four-current (a 4D multivector (Clifford / Geometric Algebra (GA) entity) which combines charge and current). The overall electromagnetic field combines both vector (electric) and bivector (magnetic) components, with the split between the electric and magnetic fields depending on the relative motion of the "test" or "observer" four-current to the other four-currents.
( See https://slehar.wo...duction/ for an intro to GA)
crusher
rufusgwarren
rufusgwarren
Soooo..... 0?
Urgelt
Thanks for solving the matter-antimatter asymmetry problem, Timmy. Physicists are sure to be grateful. They had no idea that photons are made up of balanced matter and antimatter. It was nice of you not to call them 'fools' and 'dunderheads' for missing what you, with your superior intellect, knew was obvious.
Your Nobel Prize is assured. All you have to do to collect it is to submit your paper to a peer-reviewed journal, then watch physicists' jaws drop in astonishment and admiration. Got your acceptance speech ready?
gunnqu
Quznetsov G 2013 Logical foundation of fundamental theoretical physics (Lambert Academic Publ.)
http://vixra.org/...51v6.pdf
Urgelt
Guess Quznetsov never heard of the twenty orders of magnitude between the quark scale and the Planck scale - that's more orders of magnitude than exist between our scale and quarks - or if he has, he thinks physics doesn't happen down in those weeds. And he hasn't heard about the incomplete reconciliation of relativity and quantum theories, or the unsolved matter-antimatter asymmetry, or the unexpectedly strange motions of galaxies which require unknown physics to explain, or the apparent accelerating expansion of the universe, which points either to new physics or errors in the physics we know.
Honestly, I've never read a more ridiculous statement from a physicist in my life.
gunnqu
So read: http://vixra.org/abs/1111.0051
liquidspacetime
Physicists are starting to realize the notions of dark matter and the dark matter particle are incorrect. They are referring to the mass which fills 'empty' space as the 'dark mass' in order to distinguish it from the baggage associated with dark matter.
'Dark Energy/Dark Mass: The Slient Truth'
https://tienzengo...t-truth/
"That is, all that we are certain about [is] the dark mass, not dark matter, let alone to say about the dark 'particle'."
Particles of matter move through and displace the dark mass, including 'particles' as large as galaxies and galaxy clusters.
The Milky Way moves through and curves spacetime.
The Milky Way moves through and displaces the dark mass.
The state of displacement of the dark mass *is* curved spacetime.
Urgelt
From which we may either conclude that:
1. The link proves that he quoted Quznetsov correctly; or
2. The link proves that what Quznetsov said is absolutely true and unassailable.
Think I'll go with number 1.
We aren't done discovering physics. We've got a great start on it, but the job is a long way from completed. And anyone who thinks it's a wrap - I don't care what his credentials may be - is a raving lunatic.
rufusgwarren
Or keep trying to understand cosmic rays with that bubble in your mind as reality.
Gravity? What are we? Neanderthals!
TimLong2001
rufusgwarren
Photon! Simply a field event! What are you talking about, a field with motion in time relative to you? Or some magical particle, like pixie dust? Yes it comes in different colors!
Urgelt
But in his earlier comment, he wrote, "Matter (plus charge) and Antimatter (minus charge) are balanced inside the photon."
There is no resemblance between your opinion and QCD. None whatsoever. And so you cannot support what you said by referencing QCD.
Nothing inside of a photon can be called 'matter' under QCD. And matter does not have to be positively charged, and antimatter does not have to be negatively charged. Honestly, your first comment is stunning in its ignorance of basic physics.
If you are determined to post ignorant comments in a public science forum, you are inviting snark. Really, you are.
TechnoCreed
rufusgwarren
What do you need the necessary or the sufficiency part?
rufusgwarren
TimLong2001
Monkey Butt
Protoplasmix
rufusgwarren
rufusgwarren
TimLong2001
rufusgwarren
Physics: EM Field, definable, Charge measurable and built upon a theory defined empirically. Mass (unknown)
TimLong2001
rufusgwarren
Oh, are you referring to the two experiments which are actually the same experiment: double slit with only waves and the other with only particles, i.e. the source of the waves; therefore, particles have wavelike behavior as well as waves having particle like behavior.
Kind of silly when you think about it; however, Einstein was in granularity theory before he met his first wife. Think she was dismissed as a student. She and he worked on GR. Kind of interesting, idiots like everything when having ... Thanks.
rufusgwarren
rufusgwarren
Please deny this! LOL
Monkey Butt
rufusgwarren