Proud moment for Barak Valley: Hailakandi’s Atanu Nath involved in breakthrough science experiment

In a breakthrough experiment, physicists have found new evidence that a subatomic particle is deviating from behaviour borne out by one of science’s most trusted and reliable theories – the Standard Model of particle physics. The discrepancy discovered between what the model predicts and the particle’s freshly measured behaviour suggests that the universe may contain previously undiscovered particles or forces that go beyond our current understanding.

Scientists with Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, via a seminar held on Wednesday, declared the first results of the Muon g-2 experiment – one which, since 2018, has been measuring a particle called the muon, a heavier and unstable version of the electron first discovered in the 1930s. Similar to electrons, muons have a negative electric charge and a quantum property known as spin which, when placed in a magnetic field, cause muons to behave like wobbling tops. The speed at which the muon wobbles is directly proportional to the strength of the magnetic field applied.

In a moment to cherish about this breakthrough discovery and bringing laurel to the Barak Valley, one of the authors of the thesis is from Hailakandi district. Dr. Atanu Nath, born in the town of Lala Bazar, played a significant role in the experiment, enabling the team of scientists to register milestone in Muon g-2 experiment.

Dr. Nath is son of Birendra Kumar Nath and Binata Rani Nath. Done the schooling from Lala H. S. & M. P. School, Dr. Nath completed his secondary from Ramanuj Gupta Junior College, Silchar, followed by B.Sc and M.Sc (Physics) from G. C. College, Silchar and S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata respectively.

He joined the “Muon g-2 experiment of Fermilab, Batavia, USA” in the summer of 2017 as a postdoctoral researcher after obtaining his Ph.D. degree in theoretical particle physics, from the University of Naples Federico II.

His postdoctoral research was funded by the “Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Naples, Italy”, an Italian government research organisation. During his research, they developed various detector parts at their Naples laboratory, and then his duty was to test them and if successful, transport them to their laser lab at the Fermilab (Batavia, Illinois, USA) site, where he would install them, and run various tests. During his stay in the US, his duty was also to be in charge of the Italian laser lab at the site of the experiment as a “laser expert”.

Later, he was also given the responsibility of a “run-coordinator” along with his usual research duties, this was a management and leadership job!

A muon is about 200 times as massive as its cousin, the electron. Muons occur naturally when cosmic rays strike Earth’s atmosphere, and particle accelerators at Fermilab can produce them in large numbers. Like electrons, muons act as if they have a tiny internal magnet. In a strong magnetic field, the direction of the muon’s magnet precesses, or wobbles, much like the axis of a spinning top or gyroscope. The strength of the internal magnet determines the rate that the muon precesses in an external magnetic field and is described by a number that physicists call the g-factor. This number can be calculated with ultra-high precision. Those who want to find details on the research can visit the website here