New York's Atomic Collider Successfully Passes Initial Exam
In the heart of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the sPHENIX detector, a 1,000-ton, two-story-tall instrument, has been hard at work since its installation in 2019. This impressive device, an upgrade from the retired PHENIX detector, is akin to a "giant 3D camera" tracking particles from a single collision at an astounding rate of 15,000 particle collisions per second.
The sPHENIX detector takes advantage of recent advancements in detector technology, enabling it to collect data at the fastest possible rate. Its high maintenance requirements, a result of its impressive features, are a testament to its potential for groundbreaking discoveries. Despite these demands, the researchers are hopeful they're on the right path.
The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory attempts to replicate the conditions of the early universe by flinging particles in opposite directions and observing the resulting particle collisions. When some particles in the RHIC collide, they release a gigantic load of energy that exists for a sextillionth of a second as quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Under extremely high temperatures and pressures, such as those immediately after the Big Bang, quarks and gluons exist separately in a dense, soupy plasma known as the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Quarks and gluons, fundamental particles that make up protons and neutrons, are nearly impossible to separate under normal conditions.
The data collected by sPHENIX aims to probe rare processes in particle collisions, allowing the detector to probe incredibly rare processes for the first time. The sPHENIX Collaboration, which includes physicists from various institutions, recently passed a significant milestone. They successfully completed a "standard candle" test for a paper in the Journal of High Energy Physics, a significant step towards understanding the universe's origins.
Gunther Roland, a physicist at MIT and part of the sPHENIX Collaboration, compared the successful test of the sPHENIX detector to a new telescope taking its first picture in space. The successful test indicates that the sPHENIX detector works as expected, paving the way for further discoveries.
As RHIC prepares for its final run, the future of particle physics research at Brookhaven National Laboratory is on the horizon. After RHIC's final run, the Electric-Ion Collider will take over, continuing the quest to understand our universe's beginnings. The fun for sPHENIX is just beginning.
The research carried out at the RHIC aims to understand how our universe came to be, shedding light on the mysteries of the early universe and the fundamental nature of matter and energy. As the sPHENIX detector continues its work, it promises to contribute significantly to these ongoing efforts, providing valuable insights into the universe's origins and the nature of the particles that make up everything we know.
