SLAC topics

Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology (PAC) RSS feed

To explore the birth of the universe, star and galaxy formation and the structure of space and time, SLAC researchers help develop cutting-edge technologies for a range of sensitive experiments.

Speed of hydrogen gas in a rotating galaxy.

News Feature

An enormous vat of pure liquid xenon will help scientists at SLAC and around the globe learn more about the universe.

A collection of pipes, towers, and other equipment
Animation
This animation shows how krypton (red) is removed from xenon gas (blue) by flowing the combined gases through a column...
A blue cloud with red spots travels downward, passing gray spots. As it does, the red spots move downward faster.
News Feature

To capture as much information as possible about clouds of atoms at the heart of the MAGIS-100 experiment, SLAC scientists devised a dome of...

an array of rainbow-tinted views of a tiny 3D object that spells "DOE"
News Feature

They’ll work on experiments that search for dark matter particles and exotic neutrino decays that could help explain why there’s more matter than antimatter...

Side-by-side portraits of Brian Lenardo and Chelsea Bartram
News Feature

Edelen draws on machine learning to fine tune particle accelerators, while Kurinsky develops dark matter detectors informed by quantum information science.

Side by side photographs of a woman and a man.
News Feature

The Rubin Observatory's LSST Camera will take enormously detailed images of the night sky from atop a mountain in Chile. Down below the mountain...

LSST data illustration
News Feature

DESI has already mapped out more galaxies than all previous 3D surveys combined, and it's just getting started.

Mayall Telescope Star Trails
News Feature

Managing the unprecedented amount of data that will soon stream from Rubin Observatory means more than buying tons of hard drives. SLAC scientist Richard...

A bearded man with glasses poses at a railing inside a building.
News Feature

A new analysis of the South Pole-based telescope’s cosmic microwave background observations has all but ruled out several popular models of inflation.

A telescope pokes out from a metal dish.
News Feature

Fulfilling a prediction of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, researchers report the first-ever recordings of X-ray emissions from the far side of a black...

Black Hole
News Feature

From the invisible world of elementary particles to the mysteries of the cosmos, recipients of this prestigious award for early career scientists explore nature...

Panofsky fellows
News Feature

An international collaboration aims to create a 3D map of the universe, unraveling the mysterious nature of dark energy.

Photo of a small section of the DESI focal plane