Mysteries of Matter

Berkeley Lab has led discoveries in nuclear and particle physics since 1931, with the invention of the first modern particle accelerators. Today we continue to advance our understanding of the basic constituents of matter, from exotic nuclei to quarks, neutrinos, and the Higgs boson. We’re searching for new particles that make up dark matter and innovating at the leading edge of particle accelerator and detector design.

Heather Crawford, a person with glasses and long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a dark blazer over a black top. Photographed outdoors, with trees in the background.

ATLAS program

The ATLAS group engages in a variety of physics measurements and searches beyond the Standard Model.

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE)

Three scientists standing in a semi-circle around a table of metal instrumentation.

DUNE is a leading-edge, international experiment for neutrino science and proton decay studies.

Neutrinos and Nuclear Astrophysics program

Berkeley Lab has roles in the neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments CUORE, MAJORANA, and SNO+; and in next-gen experiments.

Search for super heavy elements at the 88" Cyclotron

Exploring the limit of the island of stability, or how many more protons and neutrons can be packed into a nucleus.

Gamma-Ray Tracking Array (GRETA) at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB)

High-resolution gamma-ray detector system.

FRIB explores how the nuclear force binds nucleons into a nucleus. GRETA is a key instrument, built by Berkeley Lab, for FRIB.

Detectors engineering

Scientists testing microchips at a bench top.

Building precision detectors for cutting-edge particle accelerators across the globe.

Accelerators for particle colliders

Accelerating subatomic particles to ever higher speeds to probe the essential structure of matter.

Particle Data Group

This international collaboration provides a comprehensive summary of particle physics.

Advanced Detector R&D and Microelectronics

A view of a partially assembled focal plane petal with an array of robotic positioners that is each connected to a fiber.

Berkeley Lab has a long history of innovation in detector instrumentation to drive discovery science in high-energy physics and cosmology. Once every decade or so, a major new innovation has emerged at Berkeley Lab to enable new scientific advances.

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment

Members of the LZ team in the LZ water tank after the outer detector installation.

A mile underground, LZ will search for dark matter, which composes 85% of all matter in the universe. LZ is led by Berkeley Lab.

CUPID

Scientists inspect the CUORE cryogenic systems.

CUPID is an ultracold instrument searching for matter creation and studying fundamental neutrino properties.

Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless ββ Decay (LEGEND)

LEGEND studies whether a neutrino is its own antiparticle in an isotopically enriched germanium array.

Electron-Ion Collider (EIC)

Pink and purple glowing particles depicting an energy hadron collision.

The EIC will be a unique particle international accelerator facility that collides electrons with protons and nuclei to address fundamental questions of visible matter in the universe, including how the mass and spin of the nucleon arise and the emergent properties of the dense systems of gluons that are the carriers of the strong force.

A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE)

ALICE probes quark-gluon plasma’s properties through nuclei collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics (BCTP)

Nobel Prize Physics winner speaks in front of a crowded auditorium.

The BCTP is at the forefront of particle theory, string theory, and cosmology. Furthering our understanding of matter, spacetime, and the universe, or more specifically quantum gravity, dark matter, neutrinos, the Higgs boson, and even the multiverse, is at the heart of the BCTP’s work.

Muon-to-Electron-Conversion Experiment (Mu2e)

Three scientists working on an experiment.

Mu2e will directly probe the Intensity Frontier as well as aid research on the energy and cosmic frontiers with precision measurements required to characterize the properties and interactions of new particles discovered at the Intensity Frontier.

Alan Poon, a person with short black hair wearing glasses and a gray collared jacket over a checkered collared shirt. Posing in front of a poster board.

“In 2022, we were the first laboratory measurement to limit the neutrino mass to below an electron-volt. This limit will continue to be the most stringent as we improve our analysis and accumulate more data to understand the physical world better in the foreseeable future.”

Jacklyn Gates, a person with short dark hair wearing a black blazer over a green top.

“Superheavy elements are fascinating because they are incredibly rare and unstable, often existing for only fractions of a second before decaying. Studying these elements helps us unravel the mysteries of the periodic table, pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of the universe.”

Person with short brown hair wearing a maroon and navy collared shirt, smiling.

"High energy particle colliders offer the unique ability to probe, with every collision, how nature works at its most fundamental level. We build state-of-the-art detectors to identify the products of these collisions and use advanced simulations and data-analysis techniques to build the science of tomorrow."

Two researchers wearing lab coats and safety glasses look at experimental equipment bathed in green light.

Researchers used X-rays and electrons to make a never-before-seen movie of a shockwave moving through water. The dual view reveals hidden details and could improve models underlying inertial confinement fusion.