Posted on by Alan Boyle

America’s Particle Physics Plan Spans the Globe — and the Cosmos

Illustration showing subatomic particles and galaxies in collision
Particle physics experiments address mysteries at subatomic and astronomical levels. (Illustration by Olena Shmahalo for U.S. Particle Physics)

RALEIGH, N.C. — Particle physicist Hitoshi Murayama admits that he used to worry about being known as the “most hated man” in his field of science. But the good news is that now he can joke about it.

Last year, the Berkeley professor chaired the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel, or P5, which drew up a list of multimillion-dollar physics experiments that should move ahead over the next 10 years. The list focused on phenomena ranging from subatomic smash-ups to cosmic inflation. At the same time, the panel also had to decide which projects would have to be left behind for budgetary reasons, which could have turned Murayama into the Dr. No of physics.

Although Murayama has some regrets about the projects that were put off, he’s satisfied with how the process turned out. Now he’s just hoping that the federal government will follow through on the P5’s top priorities.

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Posted on by Matt Williams

Scientists are Recommending IceCube Should be Eight Times Bigger

This image shows a visual representation of one of the highest-energy neutrino detections superimposed on a view of the IceCube Lab at the South Pole. Credit: IceCube Collaboration
This image shows a visual representation of one of the highest-energy neutrino detections superimposed on a view of the IceCube Lab at the South Pole. Credit: IceCube Collaboration

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, operated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M), located at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica, is one of the most ambitious neutrino observatories in the world. Behind this observatory is the IceCube Collaboration, an international group of 300 physicists from 59 institutions in 14 countries. Relying on a cubic kilometer of ice to shield from external interference, this observatory is dedicated to the search for neutrinos. These nearly massless subatomic particles are among the most abundant in the Universe and constantly pass through normal matter.

By studying these particles, scientists hope to gain insight into some of the most violent astrophysical sources – such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, merging black holes and neutron stars, etc. The group of scientists tasked with advising the U.S. government on particle physics research is known as the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5). In a recent draft report, “Pathways to Innovation and Discovery in Particle Physics,” the P5 team recommended a planned expansion of IceCube. This recommendation is one of several that define the future of astrophysics and particle physics research.

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