{"id":39515,"date":"2023-12-29T13:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=39515"},"modified":"2023-12-21T10:19:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T10:19:48","slug":"discovering-elusive-particles-with-faser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/discovering-elusive-particles-with-faser\/39515\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering elusive particles with FASER"},"content":{"rendered":"
In March 2023, the Forward Search Experiment (FASER) published its first results, detecting collider neutrinos for the first time in an experiment environment.<\/p>\n
FASER is one of the most recent particle physics<\/a> experiments established at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The experiment started taking data in July 2022, and stopped taking data, for this year, in July 2023.<\/p>\n Designed to discover and study the elusive, weakly interacting particles that can be produced in collisions, the FASER experiment could help to solve some of the biggest mysteries in particle physics. By putting predictions to the test, the experiment refines our understanding of concepts such as dark matter, and enables us to confirm, exclude or possibly introduce predictions. Its subdetector, FASER\u03bd, studies interactions between high-energy neutrinos, developing our understanding of fundamental physics.<\/p>\n The Innovation Platform<\/em> spoke with CERN Research Scientist and FASER Co-Spokesperson, Jamie Boyd, to learn more about the FASER and FASER\u03bd experiments, as well as the potential implications of recent discoveries on the field.<\/p>\n The FASER experiment was designed to search for hypothetical new particles<\/a> that could be produced in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collisions. FASER is positioned in a special location, different to other experiments at the LHC, to be sensitive to new particles that could potentially be produced, but not seen, by other experiments.<\/p>\n The search is motivated by models that attempt to explain dark matter. Thanks to observations in space, we know about the existence of dark matter, and it can be explained by models that would potentially show new particles at the Large Hadron Collider.<\/p>\n FASER is also designed to study high-energy neutrinos that are produced in LHC collisions. FASER\u03bd is a sub detector and is part of the FASER experiment designed to detect and study neutrinos.<\/p>\n Neutrinos are part of the standard model of particle physics, the theoretical framework that has been well-validated by experiments. However, they\u2019ve never been studied when produced at a particle collider. At a collider, we can study the highest-energy neutrinos ever produced in a laboratory experiment. Though higher energy neutrinos have been studied coming from astrophysical sources, it has traditionally been difficult to know where they come from or what is producing them.<\/p>\n In the LHC collisions, we know the energy of the colliding protons, and consequently, we know how the neutrinos are produced, the energy they have, and can therefore study their interactions.<\/p>\n Typically, a new facility would be required to study such neutrinos, bringing associated large costs while also being time and labour-intensive. FASER allows us to take advantage of the neutrinos already being produced at the LHC. Utilising an existing facility in this way is very efficient, and we are truly maximising the physics that can be extracted from it.<\/p>\nCan you explain the FASER and FASER\u03bd experiments and their objectives?<\/h3>\n
What progress has been made since you began taking data in 2022?<\/h3>\n