In the relentless pursuit of understanding matter, energy, space, and time, physicists use powerful accelerators to collide high-energy particles, generating a storm of subatomic debris. These collisions, occurring millions of times per second, could reveal unknown particles beyond the Standard Model—the current blueprint of fundamental physics. But with plans underway to build even more intense colliders, researchers need a way to sift through the torrent of data.
A breakthrough may lie in quantum sensors. Scientists from Fermilab, Caltech, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other global institutions have developed a new detection technology that harnesses these ultra-sensitive devices to identify individual particles in the chaos of high-energy collisions precisely.
“In the next 20 to 30 years, colliders will reach unprecedented power,” says Maria Spiropulu, a professor of physics at Caltech.
“We need more precise detectors, which is why we’re developing quantum technology now—to refine searches for new particles and dark matter and explore the origins of space and time.”
Recently tested at Fermilab near Chicago, these quantum sensors demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in detecting protons, electrons, and pions. Compared to conventional detectors, SMSPDs offer improved spatial and time resolution, allowing scientists to track elusive particles more accurately.
“This is just the beginning,” says Fermilab researcher Si Xie. “We now have the potential to detect lighter particles and possibly exotic ones, including candidates for dark matter.”
Quantum sensors have already played pivotal roles in other fields, such as quantum networks and space-based astronomy. Scientists at JPL successfully used similar detectors in Deep Space Optical Communications, beaming high-definition data through laser signals from space to Earth.
However, for next-generation particle physics, researchers needed a specialized sensor with a larger surface area to collect and analyze charged particle sprays efficiently. SMSPDs meet this requirement by offering 4D sensing, which captures spatial and temporal details with unprecedented precision.
As scientists gear up for ambitious projects like the Future Circular Collider or a proposed muon collider, quantum sensors could be the key to unlocking new physics. “These detectors could be vital for the field’s biggest upcoming experiments,” says Fermilab scientist Cristián Peña, who led the research.
As scientists track particles, the hunt for undiscovered forces and phenomena—perhaps even dark matter—enters an exciting new phase.
Journal Reference:
- Cristián Peña, Christina Wang, Si Xie, Adolf Bornheim, Matías Barría, Claudio San Martín, Valentina Vega, Artur Apresyan, Emanuel Knehr, Boris Korzh. High-energy particle detection with a large-area superconducting microwire array. Journal of Instrumentation. DOI 10.1088/1748-0221/20/03/P03001
