Physicists at CERN are making final preparations for MATHUSLA. The goal of this revolutionary detector is to provide the first glimpse into long-lived particles’ secrets. The planned location of MATHUSLA is roughly 330 feet from the LHC. Its mission is to improve our understanding of fundamental physics and potentially learn more about dark matter and the Higgs boson.
MATHUSLA, short for MAssive Timing Hodoscope for Ultra-Stable neutraL pArticles, It takes its name from the Biblical Methuselah, who is famous for having lived more than 900 years. This nomenclature reflects the detector’s purpose: to capture and analyze particles that exist for longer durations than those typically detected by existing equipment. These long-lived neutral particles are theorized to slip unnoticed past the LHC’s primary detectors, making MATHUSLA an essential addition to CERN’s research capabilities.
The Design and Structure of MATHUSLA
MATHUSLA’s design is still being finalized, as engineers and physicists work together to ensure that the structure will provide the best possible performance. The detector itself will have a massive chamber that is 130 feet in diameter and made up of almost pure air. This one-of-a-kind environment is critical for the discovery potential of long-lived particles. These particles have lifespans on the order of a few hundred nanoseconds.
MATHUSLA will work in conjunction with more sophisticated detectors. Higgs bosons and other elusive particles created by billion degree collisions will be detected by these massive detectors as they appear from the collider. We’ll create a physical barrier of dirt and rock between MATHUSLA and the main collider beam. This addition will increase the detector’s chances of catching particles that it otherwise wouldn’t be able to detect. This groundbreaking configuration cements MATHUSLA’s position as a leader in the cutting-edge research taking place now and into the future. It addresses the biggest mysteries in physics with incredible audacity.
Implications for Physics and Dark Matter Research
MATHUSLA’s findings could have a massive impact well beyond simply revealing or not revealing a new particle. One of its main scientific goals is to find out what dark matter really is. The most favored theory amongst scientists is that dark matter comprises roughly 85% of all matter in the universe, yet we have not directly detected it. By detecting long-lived particles MATHUSLA would shed light on their nature which could point the way towards understanding the fundamental properties of dark matter.
Along with the search for dark matter, MATHUSLA has great potential to improve understanding of the Higgs boson. This particle, key to the Higgs mechanism that explains why other elementary particles have mass, has generated many questions since its 2012 discovery. MATHUSLA has unprecedented capabilities to illuminate the nature of the Higgs boson and its interactions. This would open the door to a new understanding of how particle physics is organized.
Furthermore, researchers hope that MATHUSLA may contribute to explaining one of physics’ greatest mysteries: why gravity is so weak compared to other fundamental forces. Through studying the nature of long-lived particles, researchers could discover patterns that offer greater understanding of gravitational behavior at a fundamental level.
