Un potentiel espoir dans la découverte de matière noire en Afrique.
In the depths of the African continent, a beacon of hope shines brightly in the quest for dark matter. Imagine a physicist, Shaun Wyngaardt, driving through the Huguenot tunnel near Cape Town in 2013, struck by the idea of constructing an underground physics laboratory next to the existing tunnel. Fast forward to today, and the Paarl Africa Underground Laboratory (PAUL) project has been officially launched, marking the first dedicated and permanent underground laboratory in Africa, and only the second in the southern hemisphere after Australia's Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory.
This initiative opens up a world of possibilities for Southern African physicists to contribute to the global research on dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up a significant portion of the universe but eludes direct detection. Existing underground laboratories in Asia, Europe, and North America are crucial for observing rare interactions between neutrinos and the yet-undiscovered particles of dark matter with ordinary matter. Neutrinos, often referred to as "ghost particles," are elusive subatomic particles that do not interact with light, making them incredibly challenging to detect.
Wyngaardt's vision to utilize the mountainous terrain of Du Toitskloof for scientific exploration faced initial skepticism, with some physicists favoring the use of South Africa's deep gold mines for research. However, with the support of Faïrouz Malek, a researcher in high-energy physics at CERN, and the establishment of the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics (ASFAP) by Malek and physicist Ketevi Assamagan in 2019, the tide began to turn.
ASFAP aims to foster international scientific cooperation among African countries and the global scientific community. By bringing African physicists together with engineers, technicians, funding agencies, and policymakers, ASFAP seeks to elevate Africa's presence in key discussions on particle physics research and strategic vision.
The momentum continued to build in 2022 when the South African Ministry of Science and Innovation provided initial funding for scientists and engineers to explore the realization of the PAUL project. Collaborating with the University of Stellenbosch, the project gained further traction as plans unfolded to repurpose a service tunnel north of the Huguenot tunnel for both alleviating traffic congestion and establishing the underground laboratory for neutrino research.
As the scientific community eagerly awaits the outcomes of these feasibility studies, the prospect of a cutting-edge underground physics laboratory in Africa looms on the horizon. With passion, perseverance, and a commitment to international collaboration, African physicists are poised to make significant contributions to unraveling the mysteries of the universe.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-024-00083-0
This initiative opens up a world of possibilities for Southern African physicists to contribute to the global research on dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up a significant portion of the universe but eludes direct detection. Existing underground laboratories in Asia, Europe, and North America are crucial for observing rare interactions between neutrinos and the yet-undiscovered particles of dark matter with ordinary matter. Neutrinos, often referred to as "ghost particles," are elusive subatomic particles that do not interact with light, making them incredibly challenging to detect.
Wyngaardt's vision to utilize the mountainous terrain of Du Toitskloof for scientific exploration faced initial skepticism, with some physicists favoring the use of South Africa's deep gold mines for research. However, with the support of Faïrouz Malek, a researcher in high-energy physics at CERN, and the establishment of the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics (ASFAP) by Malek and physicist Ketevi Assamagan in 2019, the tide began to turn.
ASFAP aims to foster international scientific cooperation among African countries and the global scientific community. By bringing African physicists together with engineers, technicians, funding agencies, and policymakers, ASFAP seeks to elevate Africa's presence in key discussions on particle physics research and strategic vision.
The momentum continued to build in 2022 when the South African Ministry of Science and Innovation provided initial funding for scientists and engineers to explore the realization of the PAUL project. Collaborating with the University of Stellenbosch, the project gained further traction as plans unfolded to repurpose a service tunnel north of the Huguenot tunnel for both alleviating traffic congestion and establishing the underground laboratory for neutrino research.
As the scientific community eagerly awaits the outcomes of these feasibility studies, the prospect of a cutting-edge underground physics laboratory in Africa looms on the horizon. With passion, perseverance, and a commitment to international collaboration, African physicists are poised to make significant contributions to unraveling the mysteries of the universe.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-024-00083-0
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