Ghost particles

21.03.2024

Ghost particles

Why in the news?

   Recently seven possible 'ghost particles' passing through the planet have been detected by astronomers.

Important points:

• The observatory uses "strings" (cables) of digital optical modules (DOM) to detect neutrinos.
•  This includes more than 5,150 DOM buried deep within the Antarctic ice. The reaction of neutrinos with ice produces charged particles that emit blue light.
• It is registered and digitized by different DOMs.

About ghost particles:

• Scientists using data from the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica believe they have potentially found the first evidence for the astronomical tau neutrino, known as a "ghost particle."
• Ghost particles are nicknames for neutrinos, which are tiny subatomic particles.
• They are often called 'ghost particles' because they rarely interact with anything else.

About Neutrino:

• Neutrinos come from a variety of sources and are often the result of heavy particles changing into lighter particles, a process called "decay."
• Neutrinos are tiny subatomic particles that rarely interact with anything.
• These belong to a family of particles called leptons.
  • There are three main leptons, namely the electron, the muon and the tau particle.
• The latter have proven particularly difficult to observe and detect, earning the nickname "ghost particles".
• Astrophysical neutrinos are the names of high-energy neutrinos that come from far beyond our galaxy.
• The neutrino is similar to an electron, but has no electric charge and much smaller mass.
•  They are the most common particles in the universe. About 100 trillion neutrinos pass through our bodies every second, completely harmless.
• These are exceptionally difficult to detect, because they rarely collide with atoms.
• Of the four fundamental forces in the universe, neutrinos interact with only two – gravity and the weak force.
• In recent developments, China is building the world's largest "ghost particle" detector, a giant underwater telescope in the South China Sea, designed to detect neutrinos.
• This telescope, named Tropical Deep-Sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT), will span 7.5 cubic kilometers and will be 10,000 times more sensitive than existing underwater telescopes.

                                       Source: Indian Express