A team of scientists from the US and Japan are racing to uncover the answer to one of science’s biggest questions: why does our Universe exist? The current theory of how the Universe came into being cannot explain the existence of planets, stars, and galaxies.
Scientists believe that the key to understanding this phenomenon lies in studying neutrinos and their antimatter counterparts. By firing beams of these particles from deep underground in Illinois to detectors in South Dakota and Japan, researchers hope to find out whether the changes they undergo are different for each type. If so, it could reveal why matter won out over anti-matter.
The US-led Dune project involves over 1,400 scientists from 35 countries, while the Japanese team is building a larger detector called Hyper-K. While the Japanese team expects to turn on their beam in less than three years, the American project is still readying its detectors.
Despite the competition, experts warn that the two experiments will provide more insight together than separately. “We switch on earlier and we have a larger detector, so we should have more sensitivity sooner,” says Dr. Mark Scott of Imperial College, London. However, Dr. Linda Cremonesi notes that Hyper-K still needs to develop its full capabilities to truly understand the behavior of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos.
The search for the Universe’s origin remains a mystery, with no definitive answer in sight. Scientists will need to wait several years for results from these experiments, but the potential breakthroughs could transform our understanding of the cosmos and humanity’s place within it.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjwvgevjjl6o