Ghost Particle Hunting: Machine Learning Cracks the Neutrino Code

Laura Dominé, a Stanford physics PhD, used machine learning to identify neutrino reactions in detectors. Neutrinos are elusive subatomic particles, nearly massless and capable of passing through matter. To detect these 'ghost particles', scientists built massive underground detectors filled with heavy water or liquid argon and equipped with sensitive photosensors. Dominé's algorithm helps physicists identify the faint interactions of neutrinos with the detector's material, leading to a better understanding of neutrinos and the universe's mysteries.