Researchers have found evidence of a peculiar particle that, ironically, is also its own antiparticle. It was first proposed 80 years ago, but it now seems like it might actually be true.
Researchers from Stanford University and the University of
California in California carried out the study that was reported in the journal
Science.
Ettore Majorana, an Italian scientist (who mysteriously
vanished in 1938), proposed the idea that a particle could have its own
antiparticle in 1937. He believed that some fermion particles, like as protons,
electrons, and neutrons, ought to have distinct antiparticles. Majorana
particles are the name given to these particles in the future.
An antiparticle is a particle having the same mass as a
regular particle but the opposite electric or magnetic characteristics. For
instance, the positron is the electron's antiparticle. Both are destructive to
one another if they come into contact.
In this experiment, two thin films of quantum materials were
stacked on top of one another in a cold vacuum container, and an electric
current was passed through them. The top film was a superconductor, whereas the
bottom layer was a magnetic topological insulator.
By moving a magnet across the stack, the researchers were
able to change the speed of the electrons. This resulted in the appearance of
electron pairs and what at certain locations appeared to be Majorana quasiparticles.
By deflecting one away, the flow of the individual quasiparticles may always be
found.
The researchers draw attention to the fact that they
couldn't properly identify Majorana particles. Instead of Majorana particles,
scientists observed what Stanford physics professor Giorgio Gratta described as
"basically excitations in a material."
Confoundingly, it's uncertain if these particles could
actually form spontaneously. They are extremely unlikely to occur in the
universe, but who are we to judge? insert Gratta. They propose the discovery of
a new type of Majorana quasiparticle called "chiral" fermion, which
moves along a one-dimensional path in just one direction.
The researchers refer to the Majorana particle data as
"smoking gun" proof. Neutrinos have already been speculated to
perhaps be their own antiparticles, while independent research is currently
being done to confirm this.
Senior author of the study and Stanford professor Shoucheng
Zhan claims, "Our team anticipated precisely where to locate the Majorana
fermion and what to look for as its'smoking gun' experimental signature."
With this discovery, one of the most extensive basic physics searches, which
lasted exactly 80 years, has come to an end.
You can watch Professor Zhang discuss the search and
discovery of the Majorana Fermion here: