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Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

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Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#101

Post by mr_mitm »

baq wrote: post #100
mr_mitm wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is the mystery? Any system can spontaneously transform into a new state with a probability greater than zero unless some conservation law prevents it. In a sense it's just quantum tunneling.

The mystery is the details, not in that it happens at all. Feel free to submit a paper if you have all the answers.

Can you be more specific? I believe quantum mechanics explains all of radioactive decay. Unless the GP meant that QM is mysterious, I don't understand the problem.

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#102

Post by dguest »

WarmWash wrote: post #37
smueller1234 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or this[2] 2007 Science paper on ultra high energy cosmic ray source candidates ("anisotropy") that we had to retract because significance started dropping almost the day the paper was approved. It was a fascinating experience as a junior member to follow the collaboration internal conversation and investigation on this, because a lot of extremely principled scientists were clearly deeply worried about losing their h…

Reminds me of the FTL neutrinos too, where the scientist where pretty much "hey, something is wrong, can you help us figure it out?" and the general public were the ones screaming "OMG! Physics is dead!" Then when it comes out as measurement error, the public is all "Damn these scientists are all hype machine clowns..."

Unfortunately it wasn't just the public: it caused so much uproar within the experiment that two of the highest ranking members resigned their posts [1].

I was a bit dismayed at the reaction within the physics community. Experiments absolutely do need to follow procedures like blinding and careful internal review (especially before the data unblinding), but you can only spend so long designing the analysis before you unblind, and there are opportunity costs to cross checking everything. In an optimized community experiments will inevitably make mistakes. And once you unblind, it does no one any good to sit on an anomalous result forever.

[1]: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.10371

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#103

Post by clarionbell »

kstrauser wrote: post #59
isomorphic wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard this referred to as a "dark sector", or "hidden sector": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_sector The scary thought is that, were it true that there is voluminous richly-interacting dark matter, we would be the actual dark sector.

"Imagine a universe, like ours, overlapping ours, except where some of its matter spontaneously rips itself apart, and other matter can be mashed together if you squeeze it hard enough." "That's nightmare fuel! Fortunately it's probably impossible, so far as we can tell." I can imagine other scary thoughts, though. Ever read any Warhammer lore?

Good news: we have discoverd FTL! Bad news: the ship came back *wrong*.

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#104

Post by baq »

mr_mitm wrote: post #101
baq wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mystery is the details, not in that it happens at all. Feel free to submit a paper if you have all the answers.

Can you be more specific? I believe quantum mechanics explains all of radioactive decay. Unless the GP meant that QM is mysterious, I don't understand the problem.

I mean questions like could you predict the decay of Xe-124 correctly? AFAIK theory overestimates the rate

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#105

Post by sandworm101 »

>> or the far bigger next version of the PandaX detector, currently under development in China...

Has there ever been an article about particle physics that didnt end with a statement about the "next and bigger" version of the current detector. The field has an addiction. No matter the size/luminocity, they will only ever crave a bigger hit.

One wonders if we should measure detectors as we do nuclear bombs: by the kiloton mass of thier detection medium. The DUNE detector would be a 70 kiloton-class detector. Super-Kamiokande, 50kt. IceCube would be approaching a gigaton.

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#106

Post by sph »

hirshi wrote: post #91

How many years until we've discovered "everything"?

May I strongly suggest you to read Asimov’s short story The Last Question for an answer.

https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~gamvrosi/thelastq.html

tl;dr: likely as long as the lifespan of the universe.

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#107

Post by mr_mitm »

baq wrote: post #104
mr_mitm wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you be more specific? I believe quantum mechanics explains all of radioactive decay. Unless the GP meant that QM is mysterious, I don't understand the problem.

I mean questions like could you predict the decay of Xe-124 correctly? AFAIK theory overestimates the rate

Quantum Chromodynamics, path integrals, and what other mechanisms you need for deriving the half life are extremely complicated, especially for that many particles, so of course it's hopeless without approximations, which can be wrong, or are even wrong by definition. But the fact that it's prohibitively hard to solve the equations for such complicated systems doesn't indicate a gap in our understanding. You don't even have to go to xenon, this is already the case for tritium.

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#108

Post by Turneyboy »

I_am_tiberius wrote: post #81

i have zero knowledge of physics, but I just can't believe something like dark matter exists. My intuition is that some math just isn't correct and falls apart at the scales of the observable universe. No idea what equations are used for getting to the reslut of having 85% unexplained matter in the universe, but I really assume there's just a constant missing or our math in general just inaccurate or not considering…

Maybe you shouldn't give much credence to your intuitions if you don't really know much about the subject. Obviously experts have those simple intuitions too except they also know the details of the theories underlying it all so they can form informed opinions.

Re: Biggest dark matter detector spots a single weird particle

#110

Post by tokai »

ajkjk wrote: post #23
irishcoffee wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have accurately described a email mailing list. Where in the value-add here?

You think that people's findings should be communicated by email? that their email chains are what should go into the permanent record and be cited and printed out and included in journals and such? would you include all the quoted text in the reply-alls, or is that too much?

Have you never seen a 'personal correspondence' reference?
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