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ScienceQuiet 8d · day 9

ETH Zurich team produces cold muon beam to test Einstein's gravity theory

Researchers achieve breakthrough in creating exotic atoms to measure whether gravity acts equally on all particles.

newest coverage 7d agosummary written 8d ago5 pieces2 likes & upvotes NewswiresHacker NewsGoogle NewsMastodon

What to know

  • ETH Zurich researchers produced cold muonium beams using superfluid helium, solving a decades-long challenge: muons decay in 2.2 microseconds, making previous atom sources unsuitable for precise gravitational measurement.
  • The experiment will test whether gravity acts equally on second-generation particles as Einstein's equivalence principle predicts—previously only tested with ordinary matter.
  • Success could either confirm Einstein's theory across all particle generations or reveal fundamental differences in how gravity affects exotic matter, reshaping gravitational physics.

“We have taken an important step toward carrying out an exciting experiment on this topic.”

Anna Soter, Physics professor, ETH Zurich · Phys.org ↗

Anna Soter Physics professor, ETH ZurichJesse Zhang Lead author, ETH Zurich studyETH Zurich and Paul Scherrer Institute Research institutions

ETH Zurich team produces cold muon beam to test Einstein's gravity theory
ethz.ch

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in two hours at Sep 15, 8 AM; 5 pieces over 9 days (3 articles · 2 posts) Sep 15, 8 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Google News 2, Newswires 1Sep 15, 10 AM — quietSep 15, 12 PM — quietSep 15, 2 PM — quietSep 15, 4 PM — quietSep 15, 6 PM — quietSep 15, 8 PM — quietSep 15, 10 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 16, 12 AM — quietSep 16, 2 AM — quietSep 16, 4 AM — quietSep 16, 6 AM — quietSep 16, 8 AM — quietSep 16, 10 AM — quietSep 16, 12 PM — quietSep 16, 2 PM — quietSep 16, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 16, 6 PM — quietSep 16, 8 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — quietSep 17, 4 AM — quietSep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quiet 1
Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22now · 5:46 AM ET
  1. 1

    Soter's team designs experiment to test universality of free fall with exotic matter

    The team plans to use the muonium beam to investigate whether gravity acts equally on all particles in the universe or differs between ordinary and exotic matter. The experiment targets a fundamental principle of Einstein's theory: that all objects fall at the same rate in a gravitational field.

    “We want to measure the gravitational interaction of the muon.”
    — Anna Soter
    1. 1 outlet Particle Beam May Challenge Einstein's Gravity Theory

      first by Mirage News, 8d ago

      1 more headline
  2. background

    ETH Zurich team achieves muonium beam breakthrough — Researchers at ETH Zurich and Paul Scherrer Institute produced an intense, cold beam of muonium atoms—neutral combinations of antimuons and electrons—using superfluid helium cooled to near absolute zero. The breakthrough enables precise measurement of gravitational effects on exotic second-generation particles.