Des avancées prometteuses dans la recherche de matière noire en Afrique offrent un nouvel espoir.
In the heart of Africa, beneath the majestic mountains, a glimmer of hope shines bright in the pursuit of unraveling the mysteries of dark matter. The year was 2013 when nuclear physicist Shaun Wyngaardt, passing through the Huguenot tunnel near Cape Town, envisioned the construction of an underground physics laboratory adjacent to the existing tunnel. Fast forward to the present day, and the Paarl Africa Underground Laboratory (PAUL) project has been officially launched, marking the first dedicated and permanent underground laboratory in Africa.
Situated under 800 meters of rock in the Du Toitskloof mountain, PAUL may not be the deepest or largest underground laboratory globally, but it represents a significant step for physicists in Southern Africa to join the global quest for dark matter. Dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up about 27% of the universe but remains elusive to detection, has puzzled scientists for decades.
The project, spearheaded by Wyngaardt, now the head of the physics department at Stellenbosch University, faced its share of skepticism initially. However, with the backing of physicists like Faïrouz Malek, a high-energy physics researcher at CERN, the vision for PAUL started to gain momentum. Malek emphasizes the importance of detecting signals from the universe through research conducted on Earth, highlighting the scientific potential of experiments, big or small.
In a bid to enhance collaboration within the African scientific community and beyond, Malek, along with physicist Ketevi Assamagan, founded the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics (ASFAP). This initiative aims to foster a culture of international cooperation in physics research, bridging gaps between African nations and the global scientific community.
As discussions surrounding the establishment of the underground laboratory gained traction, the South African Ministry of Science and Innovation, along with Stellenbosch University, provided crucial funding and support for the project. With plans underway to upgrade a service tunnel adjacent to the Huguenot tunnel in the coming years, the stage is set for the realization of the underground laboratory that could potentially revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos.
The journey towards unlocking the secrets of dark matter in Africa serves as a beacon of progress and unity in the realm of scientific discovery. As scientists and researchers come together to delve into the unknown depths of the universe, the promise of groundbreaking revelations looms on the horizon, offering a new chapter in the quest to comprehend the enigmatic forces that shape our reality.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-024-00083-0
Situated under 800 meters of rock in the Du Toitskloof mountain, PAUL may not be the deepest or largest underground laboratory globally, but it represents a significant step for physicists in Southern Africa to join the global quest for dark matter. Dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up about 27% of the universe but remains elusive to detection, has puzzled scientists for decades.
The project, spearheaded by Wyngaardt, now the head of the physics department at Stellenbosch University, faced its share of skepticism initially. However, with the backing of physicists like Faïrouz Malek, a high-energy physics researcher at CERN, the vision for PAUL started to gain momentum. Malek emphasizes the importance of detecting signals from the universe through research conducted on Earth, highlighting the scientific potential of experiments, big or small.
In a bid to enhance collaboration within the African scientific community and beyond, Malek, along with physicist Ketevi Assamagan, founded the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics (ASFAP). This initiative aims to foster a culture of international cooperation in physics research, bridging gaps between African nations and the global scientific community.
As discussions surrounding the establishment of the underground laboratory gained traction, the South African Ministry of Science and Innovation, along with Stellenbosch University, provided crucial funding and support for the project. With plans underway to upgrade a service tunnel adjacent to the Huguenot tunnel in the coming years, the stage is set for the realization of the underground laboratory that could potentially revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos.
The journey towards unlocking the secrets of dark matter in Africa serves as a beacon of progress and unity in the realm of scientific discovery. As scientists and researchers come together to delve into the unknown depths of the universe, the promise of groundbreaking revelations looms on the horizon, offering a new chapter in the quest to comprehend the enigmatic forces that shape our reality.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-024-00083-0
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