The Hunt for the Elusive Ghost Particle
In a vast, dark hall, they're searching for a single person who makes almost no sound. That's how physicists hunt for sterile neutrinos — ghostly particles that pass through matter, leaving barely a trace.
How to Catch a Rare Signal in a Sea of Data
The MicroBooNE detector is a large tank of liquid argon that catches particles flying through it. When a particle passes, it leaves a trail of charge and a flash of light. These trails combine into a three-dimensional picture of the event, as if the particle were drawing its path in a transparent cube.
Neutrinos in Argon: How Ghost Particles Give Away Their Secrets
Neutrinos are tiny particles that zip through Earth, barely noticing it. In the MicroBooNE experiment, they are caught in a tank of liquid argon. When a neutrino strikes an argon nucleus, it produces an electron and protons, like splashes from a stone thrown into water.
Energy Under the Microscope: Catching Millionths
A chamber the size of a small truck is filled with liquid argon at minus 186 degrees Celsius. When a particle flies in, it knocks electrons off argon atoms, and those electrons drift toward the walls, tracing a three-dimensional picture of the event.