How Have Halo Nuclei Contributed to the Discovery of Dark Matter? Here’s What Finding of Interesting Physics Reveals

Working at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University, a team of researchers discovered a new path to an unexpected destination, detailed in a recently published study.

As indicated in a EurekAlert! report, around three years ago, Wolfgang "Wolfi" Mittig and Yassig Ayyad searched for the universe's missing mass, better known as "dark matter," in an atom's heart.

The two's expedition did not lead them to dark matter, although they indeed discovered something that had never been witnessed before, that fought explanation, at least such that everyone could agree on.

A Hannah Distinguished Professor in Michigan State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, Mittig, a faculty member at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, also said it had been something that's similar to a detective story.

Interesting Physics Revealed

The distinguished professor also explained that they began to look for dark matter and did not find it. Instead, he continued, they discovered other things that have been quite challenging in explaining the theory.

As a result, the team returned to work, carrying out more experiments and collecting more evidence to make their finding more sense. Mittig and Ayyad, together with their colleagues, bolstered their case at the NSCL.

In finding the unexpected destination, as indicated in the study in the Physical Review Letters journal, the researchers also revealed interesting physics proceedings in the subatomic particles' ultra-small quantum realm.

The study investigators particularly confirmed that when the core or nucleus of an atom is overstuffed with neutrons, it can still discover a way to a more stable configuration rather than spitting out a proton.

How a Halo Helped

Essentially, Beryllium-11 is an example of a halo nuclei. It is an isotope or form of the element beryllium with "our protons and seven neutrons in its nucleus," a similar WhatsNew2day report specified.

Such a halo keeps 10 of those 11 nuclear particles in a tight central cluster. Nonetheless, one neutron is floating far away from that core, loosely attached to the rest of the nucleus, like the moon that rings around the Earth, explained Ayyad.

Additionally, Beryllium-11 is unstable as well. Following a lifetime of roughly 13.8 seconds, it's falling apart by what's identified as "beta decay.

Furthermore, one of its neutrons ejects an electron and becomes a proton. This then transforms the nucleus into a steady form of the element boron with five protons and six neutrons, resulting in boron-11.

However, according to that extremely hypothetical theory, if the decaying neutron is the one in the halo, it could go a different route. Specifically, it could go through a darl decay.

Quantum Physics

Ayyad also explained that the results of the experiments are quite compatible. That was not the only good news. Unknown to the researchers, an independent team of scientists from the Florida State Universities had developed another technique to probe the 2019 finding.

Part of the excitement is since the team's work could offer a new case study for what is known as open quantum systems. It is an intimidating name, although the idea can be thought of like the old saying, "nothing is existing in a vacuum."

Essentially, quantum physics has offered a framework for understanding the remarkably small components of nature. Such components include atoms and molecules, among many others.

This understanding has virtually advanced every realm of physical science, which include energy, chemistry, and materials science.

Related information about the discovery of Dark Matter is shown on NOVA PBS Official's YouTube video below:

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