Using plutonium to probe the universe: Magneto‑ν experiment advances dark matter and neutrino research
Astronomers can't see dark matter directly, but they know it's there: Its gravity shapes galaxies and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. In an effort to uncover the composition of this hidden mass, a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is pursuing evidence of particles that exist beyond the standard model of physics.
Using plutonium-241 to probe the mysteries of dark matter and neutrino mass, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) experiment called Magnetometry for Neutrino physics (Magneto-ν) has begun. The sterile neutrino, a hypothetical particle heavier than ordinary neutrinos, is a leading candidate for warm dark matter. Magneto-ν aims to detect this elusive neutrino by measuring the energies of the decay products—electron and recoiling americium-241 atom—in nuclear beta decays of plutonium-241.
While the initial 10-day campaign did not yield evidence of sterile neutrinos, the experiment successfully demonstrated the efficacy of the method for detecting neutrino mass and for reducing systematic uncertainties. If future large-scale experiments confirm the presence of sterile neutrons, it would represent a significant breakthrough in modern physics.
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