Highlights from the meeting of the American Physical Society

February 15

Hot and heavy matter runs a 4 trillion degree fever

WASHINGTON—Talk about hot and heavy. Scientists have taken the temperature of a minuscule glob of dense, hot matter formed in the grisly aftermath of collisions between gold atoms traveling near the speed of light. The material reaches an estimated 4 trillion degrees Celsius, about 250,000 times hotter than the sun’s interior, and higher than any temperature ever reached in a laboratory, researchers reported February 15 at a meeting of the American Physical Society. | Read More

Powerful collider set to smash protons

WASHINGTON — After more than a year of delays, the most powerful atom smasher on Earth will finally begin regular collisions of its two proton beams around February 20. But to help safeguard CERN’s Large Hadron Collider from further electrical problems, the accelerator will run at only half its maximum energy for the next 18 months to two years, said Steve Myers, CERN’S director for accelerators and technology. | Read More

February 15

Higgs and his particle prove elusive

WASHINGTON — It somehow seemed fitting that the eminent physicist Peter Higgs was a no-show at a meeting of the American Physical Society, proving just as elusive as the long-sought elementary particle that bears his name. | Read More

Black hole as a peephole

WASHINGTON — The smearing of starlight near the Milky Way’s central black hole could provide a new window into extra dimensions. | Read More