The already tiny neutrino’s maximum possible mass has shrunk even further

To understand neutrinos, it pays to be small-minded. The subatomic particles are so lightweight, they’re almost massless. They’re a tiny fraction of the mass of the next lightest particle, the…

How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics

Matter is a lush tapestry, woven from a complex assortment of threads. Diverse subatomic particles weave together to fabricate the universe we inhabit. But a century ago, people believed that…

Newly made laser-cooled antimatter could test foundations of modern physics

For the first time, physicists have used lasers to deep-freeze antimatter. In a new experiment, an ultraviolet laser quelled the thermal jitters of antihydrogen atoms, chilling the antiatoms to just…

Muon magnetism could hint at a breakdown of physics’ standard model

A mysterious magnetic property of subatomic particles called muons hints that new fundamental particles may be lurking undiscovered. In a painstakingly precise experiment, muons’ gyrations within a magnetic field seem…

Protons’ antimatter is even more lopsided than we thought

The proton’s antimatter is out of whack. An imbalance between two types of antiparticles that seethe within the proton is even wonkier than previously thought, a new measurement indicates. Protons…

50 years ago, scientists were on a quest for quarks

More about partons — Science News, February 13, 1971 Experiments in which protons and neutrons were bombarded with high-energy electrons have given indications that protons and neutrons are not amorphous…

This is the first known particle with four of the same kind of quark

In a never-before-seen particle, four quarks of a feather flock together. Physicists think they have detected the first conglomerate of four quarks incorporating more than two of the same kind.…

Physicists spot a new class of neutrinos from the sun

Neutrinos spit out by the main processes that power the sun are finally accounted for, physicists report. Two sets of nuclear fusion reactions predominate in the sun’s core and both…

An unexpected result from a dark matter experiment may signal new particles

An experiment searching for cosmic dark matter may have finally detected something. But it’s not dark matter. Scientists with the XENON1T experiment reported data June 17 showing an unexpectedly large…

Measuring the neutron’s lifetime from space could solve an enduring mystery

To really understand neutrons, physicists may have to take to space. When outside the confines of an atomic nucleus, a neutron decays into other particles in about 15 minutes on…