A new era in physics

Updated on: Friday, February 05, 2010

The questions surrounding the evolution of the universe have not been sufficiently answered till date.

“Astrophysical and cosmological observations have revealed that our present picture of the universe is incomplete and that 96% of the cosmos is not made of ordinary matter, but of a mysterious dark matter and dark energy,” stated Sir Jonathan Richard Ellis, a British theoretical physicist. A comprehensive explanation of cosmic evolution is possible only when physicists would be in a position to comprehend this invisible dark matter. Ellis was participating in a lecture series at Delhi University (DU).

He said that before addressing the question of cosmic evolution certain critical discoveries have to be made. “The most important discovery would be that of Higgs boson. Finding this particle would give an insight into why particles have certain mass. There is a simple underlying logic to this. We are trying to ascertain the matter that constitutes the universe. Matter and mass are complementary and inseparable at one crucial level. However, very little is known about mass till date,” he said, adding that the quest for Higgs boson will be an important precursor to the evolution of a subsequent era of physics or new physics.

CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research, is actively involved in research pertaining to astrophysics and cosmology. Incidentally, India is one of the six observer countries at CERN and a majority of scientists at CERN are Indians. “It is now being contemplated to make India an associate member of CERN, a status that has not been enjoyed by any other country till now,” shared Ellis.

Talking about India’s involvement at CERN, R K Shivpuri, director, Centre for Detector and Related Software Technologies (CDRST) and adviser, DU, said, “Indian scientists and engineers have contributed significantly in co-operative research programmes including accelerator, detectors and physics.”

On the benefits of being involved with CERN, Shivpuri added, “India has benefited considerably in terms of training young students who are involved in CERN experiments as part of their PhD studies. To be specific, Delhi University joined the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment over a decade back. About a dozen students from the university have obtained their PhD from their work at the CERN CMS experiment.”

Times of india

A new era in physics

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