Majorana Particle Discovery: Princeton Researchers Report Direct Observation

[jim mcnamara]

http://thewestsidestory.net/2014/10/05/18346/obscure-majorna-particle-discovered-encompasses-matter-antimatter/

Reports the direct observation of Majorana particles, by Princeton researchers. Is there anything substantive to this? - or is it just a Science writer getting it wrong?

 

[ModestyKing]

On first glance, it appears to be a science writer getting it wrong. He says they lower the metals to below absolute zero, and the clarity of the article isn't very large. It makes me suspicious.

 

[phinds]

I have no idea if the research being discussed it valid or not, but certainly the article is terrible.

It is highly unstable and due to its very tough and hard properties

I have no idea what "tough" and "hard" properties are and I doubt the writer does either. I suppose he's trying to emphasize complicated.

The temperature of the set up was decreased significantly, even lower than that of absolute zero temperature i.e. -273 degree Celsius.

This is where I stopped reading.

 

[TumblingDice]

Wow! A writer who can't read, "Who woulda' guessed?"

Here's the info as released from Princeton's media group, posted Oct. 2:

To avoid vibration, the microscope is cooled close to absolute zero and is suspended like a floating island...

The article is here:
www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S41/22/57K51/index.xml?section=topstories

 

[phinds]

Wow! A writer who can't read,

I think it's more a case of a writer who can't THINK.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Obviously, if this is happening in iron, it's not a fundamental particle. If you read better articles, you will see that this is a quasiparticle: a type of crystal defect that can be treated using the same mathematics as in field theory.

 

[mfb]

Article at sciencemag.org

They are clearly referring to quasiparticles. Abstract:

Majorana fermions are predicted to localize at the edge of a topological superconductor, a state of matter that can form when a ferromagnetic system is placed in proximity to a conventional superconductor with strong spin-orbit interaction. With the goal of realizing a one-dimensional topological superconductor, we have fabricated ferromagnetic iron (Fe) atomic chains on the surface of superconducting lead (Pb). Using high-resolution spectroscopic imaging techniques, we show that the onset of superconductivity, which gaps the electronic density of states in the bulk of the Fe chains, is accompanied by the appearance of zero energy end states. This spatially resolved signature provides strong evidence, corroborated by other observations, for the formation of a topological phase and edge-bound Majorana fermions in our atomic chains.

 

[jim mcnamara]

The same thing happens in Biology articles from the mainstream press. It seemed awful from the get-go, but there were no citations to get me further down the road. Did a Google search and found nothing.

Thanks for the input. And the links.