Category: Physics
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The March/April 2026 issue of the CERN Courier is out
Most of the universe is void. Of the rest, most is invisible. Yet it weaves a sprawling cosmic web, lit at its nodes by clusters of galaxies. Stack many cluster pairs and a faint radio glow appears between, brighter than diffuse intergalactic gas alone can account for. Theorist Elena Pinetti explains how the excess may
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Getting under the skin of atomic nuclei using antimatter
Researchers at the AEgIS experiment have piloted a new method to delve into the heart of atoms. This proof-of-principle study, recently reported in Physical Review Research, shows how antiprotons – the antimatter counterparts of protons – could be used to probe the outer edges of a wider range of atomic nuclei. And with CERN’s recent
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ALPHA measures tiny energy gap in antimatter with improved precision
Researchers at the ALPHA experiment have achieved a hundredfold improvement in their measurement of a feature of the antimatter counterpart of the hydrogen atom. The result, published today in Nature, allows a precise comparison of hydrogen and antihydrogen. In this study, the ALPHA Collaboration measured the ground-state hyperfine splitting of the antihydrogen atom, which comprises
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The CERN Council decided to update the European Strategy for Particle Physics
Today, following more than two years of intense work of the European particle physics community under the auspices of the European Strategy Group, the CERN Council updated the European Strategy for Particle Physics, which sets out an ambitious scientific vision for the field. The 2026 Strategy update offers a clear path to maintain European leadership
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ATLAS observes new composite particle
Physicists from the ATLAS Collaboration reported the first observation of a new particle.
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ATLAS sets record limits on Higgs boson’s self-interaction
The result is based on over 300 inverse femtobarns of proton–proton collision data, which is equivalent to 30 000 trillion collisions
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ATLAS acts as a cosmic-ray laboratory
The ATLAS Collaboration reports its first measurement of proton–oxygen collisions at the LHC, which recreate cosmic-ray interactions with Earth’s atmosphere
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CMS looks deep inside quarks
The CMS Collaboration has probed deep inside quarks to search for potential building blocks within them
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Mark Rayner (1983 – 2026)
Mark Rayner(1983 – 2026) — It was with profound shock and sadness that we learned of the sudden passing of staff member Mark Rayner, Editor of CERN Courier magazine, on 23 March. Mark was born in Hounslow, England, on 7 October 1983 and studied physics at Worcester College, University of Oxford, from 2002 to 2006.
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CMS strengthens the case for toponium
A new independent measurement by the CMS experiment at the LHC is consistent with the existence of the most massive composite particle ever observed, the momentary union of a top quark and its antiquark