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Space

Sterile neutrinos leave ghostly fingerprints on cosmos

By Lisa Grossman

15 February 2012

91av. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Hidden in full view

(Image: Mikael Buck/Solent News)

STERILE neutrinos, hypothetical particles so aloof they may flit off into other dimensions at the drop of a hat, may finally be stepping into view. If their existence is confirmed, they might account for dark matter and could point the way to other exotic particles that do not fit into the standard model of physics.

The model is physicists’ best idea of how particles interact with three of the four fundamental forces – electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. “So far we have no compelling measurement of a particle that doesn’t participate in the standard model…

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