For the better part of a century, people have been trying to understand dark matter. This invisible substance makes up roughly 85% of the mass in the universe but has never been directly detected. Determining exactly what it is remains one of the biggest questions about our world. Now, a new analysis from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment has recorded a single particle interaction that researchers have great difficulty explaining with known background signals from normal matter. The result does not yet meet the statistical threshold required to claim a discovery, but is the most compelling
Space & AstronomyParticle Physics#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Laboratory Directed Research and Development#Nuclear#Chem#and Isotopic S&T#Physical and Life Sciences#Top Story#astronomy
Technology & InnovationLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Small, modular nuclear fission reactors are emerging as a resilient energy option, offering a scalable, cost-effective path to reliable power for remote or infrastructure-limited locations. However, these advanced reactor facilities typically run hotter and longer than conventional light water reactors, so they will require a new type of nuclear fuel tough enough to withstand harsher operating conditions. Through a Strategic Partnership Project with micronuclear reactor startup AMPERA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) engineers are applying a novel metallic-particle
Technology & InnovationEnergy Policy#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Advanced Materials and Manufacturing#Energy#Industry Collaborations#Nuclear#Chem#and Isotopic S&T#Top Story
Technology & InnovationLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Astronomers can't see dark matter directly, but know it's there: its gravity shapes galaxies and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. In an effort to uncover the composition of this hidden mass, a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is pursuing evidence of these particles that exist beyond the standard model of physics. In a new experimental campaign called Magnetometry for Neutrino physics (Magneto-ν), scientists at LLNL are searching for the sterile neutrino using nuclear beta decays of plutonium-241. This hypothetical neutrino species is significantly heavier than
Technology & Innovation#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Laboratory Directed Research and Development#Nuclear#Chem#and Isotopic S&T#Physical and Life Sciences#Top Story#advanced materials
Space & AstronomyLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
For the second summer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Space Science Institute (SSI) welcomed undergraduate and graduate students to a 10-week internship exploring astronomy, cosmochemistry and astrophysics. Throughout the summer, the 2026 student cohort worked alongside their LLNL mentors on projects reflecting the variety of capabilities available onsite at the Laboratory. "Here at the Lab, there is a huge breadth of research that lives under space science — from performing astrophysical data analysis with LLNL's high-performance computers to characterizing an instrument
Space & Astronomy#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Academic Engagement#HPC#Simulation#and Data Science#Lasers and Optical S&T#Nuclear#Chem
Space & AstronomyLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory marked a major milestone with the beginning of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a 10-year effort to capture the universe in unprecedented detail. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) engineer and former project manager for the LSST Camera, Vincent Riot reflected on the culmination of the project and the journey ahead. Development of the world's largest digital camera began before Riot arrived at the Lab in 2003. For most of his career, he worked to build first-of-its kind optical components, including lenses that would later be
Space & Astronomy#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Academic Engagement#Engineering#Lasers and Optical S&T#Top Story#astronomy#astrophysics#NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
Press ReleasesLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
On July 16, 2024, a daytime meteor shook New York City with a sonic boom as it passed just south of the Statue of Liberty. A short time later, a more than two-pound meteorite crashed through the roof of a house in the town of Hillsborough, New Jersey. Now, an international team, including scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has analyzed that meteorite. Their results — which indicate that the meteor was once a part of an ancient, briny asteroid — appear in the journal Science Advances. "A forensic study of the fragments revealed that they contained preserved bits
Research#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Nuclear#Chem#and Isotopic S&T#Physical and Life Sciences#Space security#Top Story
