Highlights from e-EPS: Neutrino Oscillation / DPG President / Outreach Database

e-EPS News is a monthly addition to the CERN Bulletin line-up, showcasing articles from e-EPS – the European Physical Society newsletter – as part of a collaboration between the two publications.

Asian experiments unlock neutrino oscillation mystery

Two reactor experiments, China’s Daya Bay and Korea’s RENO, have made the best measurement of the neutrino mixing angle, θ₁₃, an essential property for neutrino research. The discovery of a non-zero θ₁₃ at approximately 9˚ – which was published in March and April this year – completes our picture of neutrino mixing. This quite large value for the mixing angle will make it easier to conduct future long baseline neutrino experiments. This, in turn, may lead to a better understanding of the matter-antimatter asymmetry seen in the Universe.

Neutrino oscillations – the change in flavour seen as neutrinos move – were discovered in Japan in 1998. The three mixing angles – θ₁₂, θ₂₃, and θ₁₃ – describe the relationship between certain flavour and mass states of neutrinos. They can be seen as the Euler angles between flavour (v_e, v_μ, v_τ) and mass (v₁, v₂, v₃) states, considered as two sets of orthogonal axes. θ₁₂and θ₂₃ were known – and large – but before now, we had only hints at the smallest value, θ₁₃.

Alessandro Bettini

Johanna Stachel new DPG president

Johanna Stachel took office as president of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG) on 16 March this year. Stachel, a professor of experimental physics at the University of Heidelberg, is the first female physicist to head the DPG since its founding in 1845.

Stachel presented her presidential agenda during her inaugural speech, which took place in the Magnus-Haus Berlin. Besides the promotion of fundamental research, the main concerns of the new president are education, the training of physics teachers and the encouragement of women in physics – with focus on equal opportunity.

DPG

Particle physics outreach database launched by IPPOG

A database of resources and tools for particle physics education and outreach has been published by the International Particle Physics Outreach Group. The collection aims to help and inspire physicists, communicators and teachers with useful and imaginative ways of teaching students and the public about particle physics.

“The idea behind the database was to create a basket of tools where people can go and dip in and use them for their own needs,” says Lisa Mc Carthy, the IPPOG staff member who helped to set up the database. Submissions to the resource library can be made by anyone – after registering – extending the IPPOG tradition of sharing outreach tools, practices and successes.

The database can be searched by a number of parameters, including the learning topic, nature, intended audience and language. The site also features a rating system – similar to those seen on sites such as amazon and youtube – through which submissions may be reviewed by the community, with popular items earning featured status.

The database is still in its early stages, and the creators are inviting users to provide feedback, and make suggestions as to how it could be improved. Comments should be sent to IPPOG by email.

For more information on IPPOG, please see the e-EPS article “International Particle Physics Outreach Group meeting”.

Ian Randall