Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Particle physics

Axions exposed

Nature volume 539, pages 40–41 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

A Clarification to this article was published on 09 February 2017

This article has been updated

Physicists are hunting for a particle called the axion that could solve two major puzzles in fundamental physics. An ambitious study calculates the expected mass of this particle, which might reshape the experimental searches. See Letter p.69 See Clarification p.176

The strong nuclear force binds the constituents of protons and neutrons together and is well described by a theory called quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Within experimental error, the strong force is time-symmetric — the behaviour of strong interactions does not change if the flow of time is reversed. However, the equations of QCD might contain a symmetry-violating term that can theoretically take any value. And nature has chosen to set this term to zero. Why is this? The leading explanation is that the term is not zero, but is cancelled out by the presence of a 'neutralizing' particle called the axion1,2,3, which has yet to be discovered. Such a particle could also solve a long-standing problem in cosmology by making up dark matter, the 'missing' matter in the Universe. On page 69, Borsanyi et al.4 calculate the expected mass of the axion with unprecedented accuracy, a result that could be useful for understanding the properties of this mysterious particle and directing strategies for its detection5.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The hunt for axions.

Change history

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Peccei, R. D. & Quinn, H. R. Phys. Rev. Lett. 38, 1440–1443 (1977).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Weinberg, S. Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 223–226 (1978).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wilczek, F. Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 279–282 (1978).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Borsanyi, S. et al. Nature 539, 69–71 (2016).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Graham, P. W., Irastorza, I. G., Lamoreaux, S. K., Lindner, A. & van Bibber, K. A. Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 65, 485–514 (2015).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Berkowitz, E., Buchoff, M. I. & Rinaldi, E. Phys. Rev. D 92, 034507 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Borsanyi, S. et al. Phys. Lett. B 752, 175–181; preprint at arXiv:1508.06917 (2016).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Trunin, A., Burger, F., Ilgenfritz, E.-M., Lombardo, M. P. & MĂĽller-Preussker, M. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 668, 012123 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bonati, C. et al. J. High Energy Phys. 2016 (3), 155 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Petreczky, P., Schadler, H.-P. & Sharma, S. J. Phys. Lett. B (in the press); http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2016.09.063 (2016).

  11. Patrignani, C. et al. (Particle Data Group) Chin. Phys. C 40, 100001 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maria Paola Lombardo is at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, I-00044 Frascati, Italy.,

    Maria Paola Lombardo

Authors
  1. Maria Paola Lombardo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Paola Lombardo.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Particle physics: Quantum simulation of fundamental physics

Particle physics: A weighty mass difference

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lombardo, M. Axions exposed. Nature 539, 40–41 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/539040a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/539040a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing