“We’re a long way off from being able to actually bottle antimatter, like in the movie Angels and Demons, but it was important to show that we could trap it for a longer period of time,” said (right), professor in 91��ɫ’s Department of Physics & Astronomy. Menary works on the Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus experiment, dubbed ALPHA, at the (CERN). In November 2010, ALPHA scientists successfully trapped antihydrogen atoms for the first time – but only for a fraction of a second.

“The first time, we trapped [the antihydrogen atoms] for a tenth of a second, which is actually long enough to study them,” Menary said. “But naturally we had people asking, ‘why can you only hold on to them for a tenth of second?’ This experiment demonstrates that we can hold on to them for much longer – in theory, for as long as we want,” he said.

See an online gallery of the .

ALPHA physicists, including a core team of scientists from Canadian universities, have been working to trap and study antihydrogen – the antimatter twin of hydrogen – which may help explain the “lost half of the universe.” During the Big Bang, matter and antimatter should have been created in equal amounts; scientists are left with the question, where did all the antimatter go? Researchers are tackling that riddle by taking one of the best-known systems in physics, the hydrogen atom, and investigating whether its antimatter counterpart behaves in exactly the same manner.

Makoto Fujiwara, the study’s lead author, said: “We know we have confined antihydrogen atoms for at least 1,000 seconds. That’s almost as long as one period in hockey! This is potentially a game changer in antimatter research.” Fujiwara is a research scientist at , Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, and an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary.

Scientists at CERN were able to make antihydrogen almost a decade ago, but they couldn’t study it; antimatter annihilates when it comes into contact with matter, converting to energy and other particles. ALPHA scientists succeeded by constructing a sophisticated “magnetic bottle” using a state-of-the-art superconducting magnet to suspend the antiatoms away from the walls of the device and keep them isolated long enough to study them.

Canadian researchers are playing leading roles in the antihydrogen detection and data analysis aspects of the project. The collaboration includes scientists from University of Calgary, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and TRIUMF.

Above: The TRIUMF cyclotron at the University of British Columbia. Photo courtesy of TRIUMF.

The next step for ALPHA is to start performing measurements on trapped antihydrogen; this is due to get underway later this year. The first step is to illuminate the trapped antiatoms with microwaves, to determine if they absorb precisely the same frequencies (or energies) as their matter twins.

ALPHA-Canada and its research is supported by the (NSERC), TRIUMF, (AIF), the and (FQRNT).

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor , a particle physicist in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, who joined the faculty this past summer, and graduate student Hiro Sato are co-authors with Andrea De Simone, PhD candidate at the Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Mass. of a paper published in the American Physical Society’s Physical Review Letters, one of the world's foremost scientific journals.

Above: Veronica Sanz, professor of particle physics in 91��ɫ's Faculty of Science & Engineering, with graduate student Hiro Sato

The article, “Pseudo-Dirac Dark Matter Leaves a Trace”, suggests a method for detecting traces of a dark matter particle that are produced in a collider. Normally, dark matter can only be detected by inference – by “not seeing” it in experiments designed to observe the missing energy that was carried away by the dark matter particle. The method described in the paper would allow experimentalists to see evidence of dark matter, thought to make up 23 per cent of the observable universe, for the first time.

“Everybody wants to get this piece of the cake, they want to explain this 23-per-cent part of the universe,” says Sanz, who began her studies of dark matter during graduate studies at Harvard University and MIT, and continued them in her post-doctoral research at Boston University.

Dark matter was first postulated by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in 1934 to help explain anomalies in the orbital velocities of galaxies in clusters.

What led Sanz to the idea that she and her co-authors have described was a growing lack of confidence in WIMPS.

No, not weaklings on the beach – these WIMPS are the hypothetical “weakly interacting massive particles” that represent one theory about dark matter. In a technique used by the cryogenic dark matter search (CDMS) detector at Minnesota’s Soudan Underground Laboratory, scientists thought they would be able to detect dark matter, but found nothing.

“This is very worrisome,” says Sanz, “because our WIMP idea of dark matter doesn’t explain why CDMS didn’t see anything. So, we sat down and tried to think of another way of leading to dark matter.”

Experimentalists will now test the 91��ɫ team’s theory in a collider by smashing protons and watching for the observable remnants. “We are asking them to look at particles displaced from the collision point. This is not what they were going to do, they were going to look for [evidence of ] nothing.”

These questions are the subject of a larger debate about the fundamental concept of gravity and the make-up of the universe, says Sato, a master’s student who came to 91��ɫ from the University of Toronto so he could work on dark matter with Sanz.

“People thought maybe something’s wrong with gravity theory – that there’s some fundamental problem with how Einstein or Newton thought about what gravity was. The other way of thinking about it is, no, there is matter, it’s just invisible. There’s nothing wrong with our gravity theory, it’s actually some kind of matter.”

“Pseudo-Dirac Dark Matter Leaves a Trace” was published in the Sept. 16 edition of the Letters and is available as a at the website for those with access, which is included on many 91��ɫ computers via 91��ɫ Libraries.

By David Fuller, YFile contributing writer

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin

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On June 22, the government announced $14 million to develop and operate ARIEL, the facility's Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory:

The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway and President of the Treasury Board, today announced a significant contribution to Canada's national laboratory for nuclear and particle physics research.

"Our government is supporting science and technology to improve the quality of life of Canadians, create jobs and strengthen the economy," said Minister Day. "This investment, as part of the Economic Action Plan, will support world-leading research and provide opportunities to bring new innovations to the marketplace so that Canadians and people around the world can benefit."

"World-class research facilities provide researchers with the tools they need to succeed," said the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology). "The ARIEL facility is a great achievement for Vancouver, and for all of Canada."

The government will invest $14 million to support the development and operation of ARIEL, the Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory at TRIUMF.  This investment is part of the government's five-year, $222 million commitment to TRIUMF made in Budget 2010: Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth.

Located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, TRIUMF has received more than $1 billion in federal investment to support operations, infrastructure and commercialization activities. It brings together dedicated physicists and interdisciplinary talent, sophisticated technical resources, and commercial partners in a way that has established the laboratory as a global model of success. The advances ensuing from TRIUMF's research will enhance the health and quality of life of millions of Canadians.

The full announcement is available on the National Research Council Canada's .

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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The interview is .

Taylor and other 91��ɫ researchers played a key role in a . The DZero collaboration of scientists at the submitted a finding to the journal Physical Review D, reporting significant differences between matter and antimatter, which run up against current theories of particle physics.

Their research indicates a one per cent difference between the production of pairs of muons and pairs of antimuons in the decay of B mesons produced in high-energy collisions at Fermilab’s Tevatron particle collider. An independent DZero measurement carried out by 91��ɫ researchers and submitted to Physical Review D last month further verifies these results.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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The DZero collaboration of scientists at the submitted a finding to the journal Physical Review D, reporting significant differences between matter and antimatter, which run up against current theories of particle physics. Their research indicates a one per cent difference between the production of pairs of muons and pairs of antimuons in the decay of B mesons produced in high-energy collisions at Fermilab’s Tevatron particle collider. An independent DZero measurement carried out by 91��ɫ researchers and submitted to Physical Review D last month further verifies these results.

Right:

Scientists believe that during the Big Bang, matter and antimatter were created in equal proportions; they have been searching for minute differences between the two in the hopes they will help us understand why our universe is composed primarily of matter.

Physicists theorize that a physical process preferentially consumes the antimatter in the universe, leaving only matter behind; they refer to this process as “CP violation”. However, the standard model of particle physics predicts very small amounts of this phenomenon, insufficient to account for the dominance of matter in the universe. The findings of 91��ɫ physics Professor , Canada Research Chair in Experimental Particle Physics, and her colleagues put forth new evidence of CP violation as a key factor.

“These results are very exciting,” says Taylor, who is also a member of the tight-knit DZero b-quark physics group, which led the research. “This puts us one step closer to answering the big questions about matter-antimatter asymmetry – where did the antimatter go, and how was it consumed?”

Taylor and 91��ɫ graduate student Steven Beale looked for another particle, called a D_s meson, which is often produced along with muons in b-quark decays.

“Muons also originate from the decays of other particles, so it was important to try and verify that the muons originated from the b-quark,” says Taylor.

The two independent analyses are consistent: a combined result shows evidence of a source of CP violation in the decay of b-quarks.

DZero is an international experiment of about 500 physicists from 86 institutions in 19 countries. It is supported by the US Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and a number of international funding agencies.

Fermilab is a national laboratory funded by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy, operated under contract by Fermi Research Alliance, a limited liability company.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professors Caitlin Fisher, David Hood, Joel Katz, Steve Mason, Wendy Taylor and Peer Zumbansen will continue their respective research in digital culture, cell physiology, health psychology, Greco-Roman cultural interaction, experimental particle physics, and transnational economic governance and legal theory.

With the renewals, 91��ɫ maintains its total of 28 research chairs. “Federal research investments are crucial to attracting and retaining the world's best researchers,” said Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation. “The Canada Research Chairs program allows us to sustain 91��ɫ’s globally competitive research across health, the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Our researchers’ findings help improve the quality of life, economic, and social well-being of Canadians and people around the world.”

Caitlin Fisher, Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Digital Culture and film professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts, investigates the future of narrative, interactive storytelling, and interactive cinema in the emerging area of virtual reality research. Her research develops techniques and narrative strategies for use in augmented reality (AR) environments, which is increasingly important for Canada's culture and entertainment industries as AR and associated technologies like smart phones become more commonplace.

Left: Caitlin Fisher

Under her direction, 91��ɫ’s AR Lab, part of the in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Fine Arts, is conducting research at the forefront of art and science collaborations. The lab makes use of both established and emerging technologies to produce innovative research methods, expressive tools for artists and award-winning content that challenges cinematic and literary conventions while enhancing the ways in which people interact with their physical environment and with each other.

David Hood, CRC in Cell Physiology and kinesiology & health science professor in the Faculty of Health, is an internationally-recognized authority in muscle health, exercise and mitochondria. His publications have expanded on the important role that mitochondria play in muscle, and the beneficial effect of exercise in enhancing energy production, preventing cell death and attenuating disease processes.

Right: David Hood

Hood operates one of the world’s most advanced laboratories in the cellular physiology of mitochondria. In January 2010, he became the first director of the newly opened 91��ɫ Muscle Health Research Centre (MHRC), which is unique in Canada. The MHRC integrates research in mitochondria with biomedical research across the University.

Joel Katz, CRC in Health Psychology and psychology professor in the Faculty of Health, is a world-class researcher in the study of pain. His research has significant impact on the way pain is understood and managed in both preventative and rehabilitative medicine.

Left: Joel Katz

His major accomplishments include using a preventative approach to advance the treatment of acute post-operative pain, increasing our understanding of neonatal pain and how to manage it, identifying factors that predict the transition of acute to chronic pain, and discovering previously unrecognized gender differences in the experience of pain. Katz is coordinator of the 91��ɫ health psychology Graduate Diploma Program, the only program in Canada offering specialized training in health psychology leading to a diploma.

Steve Mason, CRC in Greco-Roman Cultural Interaction and history professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, explores issues of cultural identity among the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean under Hellenistic and Roman rule (200 BCE to 300 CE). He focuses on Judea and the Jewish Mediterranean diaspora in the context of other diasporas.

Right: Steve Mason

The most important literary sources for these questions are 30 surviving volumes by the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37 - c. 100 CE), and Mason is at the forefront of research into these works. He leads an international team of 14 scholars in supplying Josephus with a new translation and the first comprehensive . He has published five books and many articles on related subjects while editing and co-authoring another seven. He manages the popular online database, , and is completing a volume on the fateful Judean-Roman War of 66 to 74 CE.

, CRC in Experimental Particle Physics and physics professor in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, studies the high-energy particle collisions at the and at the accelerator. Her research aims to understand matter’s smallest indivisible components and the forces of interaction between them. Taylor is recognized by her peers as an expert in b-quark physics analysis and particle detector electronics development.

Left: Wendy Taylor

Her primary analysis found the first evidence of spontaneous matter-antimatter transitions of B0s mesons, composite particles that contain both a b-quark and an anti-s quark. She contributed to developing a new calorimeter trigger, which allows high-rate data collection. She is now developing low-noise radiation-hard readout electronics for a new particle detector and algorithms to search for the Higgs boson, the particle believed to be responsible for why matter in the universe has mass.

, CRC in Transnational Economic Governance & Legal Theory and professor in Osgoode Hall Law School, explores globalization’s impact on national political economies, concentrating on changing forms of production and on the politics of privatization and deregulation.

Right: Peer Zumbansen

Zumbansen's research is advancing the development of both a comparative and methodological perspective of globalization on national political economies. His work also explores broader questions concerning political sovereignty and the changing relationship between the state and the market, particularly in the European Union, Canada and the United States. Widely published in both German and English, Zumbansen is the co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the .

Gary Goodyear, minister of state (science & technology), announced the nationwide renewals in Ottawa on March 26. “Our government is investing in science and technology to create jobs, strengthen the economy and improve Canadians’ quality of life,” said Goodyear. “The Canada Research Chairs program is helping our universities develop and attract talented people, strengthening our capacity for leading-edge research, while creating jobs and economic opportunities for Canadians now and in the future."

The CRC program attracts the best talent from Canada and around the world, helping universities achieve research excellence in natural sciences and engineering, health sciences and social sciences and humanities.

For more information, visit the Web site.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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91��ɫ particle physicist Sampa Bhadra (below right) has already figured out how she intends to spend her next sabbatical leave when it comes in 2013 – she's hoping to visit British Columbia so she can spend some quality time at a subatomic research facility that’s larger than two city blocks and houses the biggest cyclotron in the world. It will be the ultimate busman’s holiday as she takes part in research into the tiniest secrets of the universe along with scientific colleagues at TRIUMF, Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics.

While there, Bhadra, a professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, will also visit with 91��ɫ alumnus Nigel Lockyer (BSc Spec. Hons. ’75), director of TRIUMF, in which 91��ɫ became a partner July 1 (see YFile, July 2). The two met 22 years ago at another subatomic research facility, Fermilab, near Chicago, and established a networking connection that made 91��ɫ’s eventual partnership in TRIUMF possible.

When Lockyer became director in 2007 (see YFile, March 20, 2007), he accepted an invitation from then president Lorna Marsden to visit 91��ɫ's Keele campus and meet the University’s growing team of particle physicists. When he arrived, Lockyer was in the early stages of a campaign to promote membership in TRIUMF to Canadian universities. He quickly recruited Bhadra to champion the idea at 91��ɫ, along with Stan Shapson, 91��ɫ’s vice-president research & innovation, and Michael Siu, associate vice-president research, science & technology, and she is now 91��ɫ’s representative on TRIUMF’s Policy & Planning Advisory Committee. 91��ɫ became an associate member of the consortium in September 2008 (see YFile, Sept. 16, 2008).

Taylor	Menary

The Faculty of Science & Engineering has seven researchers, members of 91��ɫ’s group, who will benefit from the association with TRIUMF, says Bhadra. She and fellow experimentalists Scott Menary and Wendy Taylor are the 91��ɫ principal investigators for several projects around the world and the Canadian leaders of these experiments reside at TRIUMF.

91��ɫ theorists Roman Koniuk, Randy Lewis and Kim Maltman have also collaborated closely with TRIUMF physicists, either as staff and/or on sabbatical. The newest member of 91��ɫ’s particle physics group is theorist Veronica Sanz-Gonzalez, who joined 91��ɫ this year from Boston University.

Koniuk	Lewis	Maltman	Sanz-Gonzalez

“Our connection to TRIUMF is long overdue,” says Bhadra. “It’s a great meeting place for scientific discussions; it’s a concentration of experts. The synergy is fantastic right now.”

The benefits of 91��ɫ’s membership will soon be felt at the Keele campus when Lia Merminga, director of TRIUMF’s accelerator division, makes a visit to 91��ɫ in November. “91��ɫ and TRIUMF will be exploring joint intitiatives that will have long-reaching benefits for both institutions,” says Bhadra.

TRIUMF “is a value statement by Canada about the long-term importance of strategic investments in science, technology and innovation,” said Lockyer in a director’s message. “TRIUMF’s accomplishments in basic research (particle and nuclear physics, molecular and materials science, nuclear medicine and information technology), international partnerships and commercial successes with Canadian companies are the proof behind this statement.”

Right: Nigel Lockyer

TRIUMF’s Isotope Separator and Accelerator Complex is recognized as the world’s most advanced laboratory for the production of exotic or “medical” isotopes. While not using the accelerator complex itself, Bhadra and her colleagues have access to the excellent resources provided by TRIUMF in terms of expertise in electronics, computing and engineering support.

TRIUMF's accelerator division has long been recognized as one of the world's best and has contributed hardware and expertise to CERN, the international consortium based in Switzerland that is home to the world's largest particle accelerator.

For more information about TRIUMF, visit its Web site.

Republished with files courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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