In both processes, the antiparticles come from the depths of the galaxy, several 10s of thousands of light-years away from us. After their development, a part of them makes its way in our instructions. The number of these particles endure this journey untouched and reach the area of the Earth as messengers of their formation process figures out the openness of the Milky Way for antihelium nuclei. Previously researchers have only had the ability to approximately estimate this value. However, an improved approximation of transparency, a system of procedure for the number and energies of antinuclei, will be essential for interpreting future antihelium measurements.
LHC particle accelerator as antimatter factory
Researchers from the ALICE cooperation have actually now performed measurements that have enabled them to identify the transparency more specifically for the very first time. ALICE represents A Large Ion Collider Experiment and is one of the biggest experiments worldwide to check out physics on the smallest length scales. ALICE belongs to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.
The LHC can create large amounts of light antinuclei such as antihelium. To do so, protons and lead atoms are each placed on a collision course. The crashes produce particle showers which are then taped by the detector of the ALICE experiment. Thanks to numerous subsystems of the detector, the scientists can then identify the antihelium-3 nuclei that have formed and follow their routes in the detector material. This makes it possible to measure the possibility that an antihelium-3 nucleus will communicate with the detector material and disappear. Researchers from TUM and the Excellence Cluster ORIGINS have actually contributed substantially to the analysis of the experimental information.
Galaxy transparent for antinuclei
Utilizing simulations, the scientists had the ability to transfer the findings from the ALICE experiment to the entire galaxy. The result: About half of the antihelium-3 nuclei which were expected to be produced in the interaction of dark matter particles would reach the area of the Earth. Our Milky Way is thus 50 percent permeable for these antinuclei. For antinuclei created in collisions in between cosmic radiation and the interstellar medium, the resulting transparency differs from 25 to 90 percent with increasing antihelium-3 momentum. These antinuclei can be distinguished from those created from dark matter based on their greater energy.
This indicates that antihelium nuclei can not only travel cross countries in the Milky Way, however also serve as important informants in future experiments: Depending on how numerous antinuclei show up at the Earth and with which energies, the origin of these well-traveled messengers can be analyzed as cosmic rays or dark matter thanks to the new computations.
Reference for future antinuclei measurements in area
” This is an excellent example of an interdisciplinary analysis that illustrates how measurements at particle accelerators can be straight related to the research study of cosmic rays in space,” says ORIGINS scientist Prof. Laura Fabbietti of the TUM School of Natural Sciences. The outcomes from the ALICE experiment at the LHC are of fantastic value for the search for antimatter in area with the AMS-02 module (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) on the International Space Station (ISS). Beginning in 2025 the GAPS balloon experiment over the Arctic will likewise examine incoming cosmic rays for antihelium-3.
Recommendation: “Measurement of anti-3He nuclei absorption in matter and effect on their proliferation in the Galaxy” by The ALICE Collaboration, 12 December 2022, Nature Physics.DOI: 10.1038/ s41567-022-01804-8.
The work on the antihelium-3 interaction, led by Prof. Dr. Laura Fabbietti, involved research groups led by Prof. Dr. Alejandro Ibarra at TUM and Dr. Andrew Strong at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. This research study has actually been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and likewise by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) through the Excellence Cluster ORIGINS, EXC 2094– 390783311 and the Collaborative Research Center SFB1258.
Illustration of antihelium annihilation in the ALICE detector at CERN along with in the universe. Credit: ORIGINS Cluster/S. Kwauka
New findings lay the structure for the look for dark matter.
As yet it has not been possible to show directly that dark matter exists. A research study team including Technical University of Munich (TUM) researchers has actually now measured for the first time the survival rate of antihelium nuclei from the depths of the galaxy– a needed prerequisite for the indirect search for dark matter.
Numerous things point to the existence of dark matter. The method in which galaxies move in galactic clusters, or how quick stars circle the center of a galaxy results in calculations that suggest that there must be far more mass present than what we can see.
Numerous theoretical designs of dark matter predict that it might be made up of particles that engage weakly with one another. This produces antihelium-3 nuclei, which consist of 2 antiprotons and one antineutron. These nuclei are also created in high-energy crashes in between cosmic radiation and typical matter like hydrogen and helium– however, with energies different from those that would be expected in the interaction of dark matter particles.
A research group consisting of Technical University of Munich (TUM) scientists has actually now measured for the first time the survival rate of antihelium nuclei from the depths of the galaxy– a necessary requirement for the indirect search for dark matter.
Numerous theoretical models of dark matter forecast that it could be composed of particles that interact weakly with one another. These nuclei are likewise created in high-energy collisions between cosmic radiation and typical matter like hydrogen and helium– nevertheless, with energies various from those that would be anticipated in the interaction of dark matter particles.
The outcome: About half of the antihelium-3 nuclei which were anticipated to be created in the interaction of dark matter particles would reach the area of the Earth. These antinuclei can be identified from those created from dark matter based on their greater energy.