News

Find out about the latest Physics and Astronomy news from the University of Sheffield.

A researcher using an atomic force microscope

29 April 2020

New insight into bacterial surface architecture revealed

The study, published in Nature, will help scientists combat antibiotic resistance with findings that overturn previous theories about the structure of outer bacterial layers.

Artist's impression of a binary star. Credit: Mark Garlick

18 March 2020

Scientists discover the first pulsating remains of a star in an eclipsing double star system

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have discovered a pulsating ancient star in a double star system, which will allow them to access important information on the history of how stars like our Sun evolve and eventually die.

Man stood inside the dector the Deep Underground Neutrino experiment

25 November 2019

University of Sheffield researchers part of global science project awarded £30m investment

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment is bringing together scientists and engineers from the UK and 31 countries from Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Planet discovered transiting a dead star

Dr Steven Parsons examines the evidence of a planet circling the smouldering remains of a dead star in a tight orbit. The discovery raises the question of how the planet survived the star’s death throes – and whether there are others.

16 September 2020 | Published by Nature News and Views

Graduating students go online to celebrate end of their degrees

The Department of Physics and Astronomy hosted an online prize giving ceremony for final year undergraduates.

14 August 2020

Rare phenomenon observed by ATLAS features the LHC as a high-energy photon collider

Particle physicists from the University of Sheffield, working as part of the ATLAS experiment, have observed photon collisions producing weak-force carriers, providing further insights into their interactions.

5 August 2020 | Published by CERN

A visualisation of the ttZ production process

ATLAS probes interactions between heavyweights of the Standard Model

Sheffield particle physicists, working as part of ATLAS, have been examining the way in which a proton–proton collision produces a top-quark pair together with a Z boson – a process known as ttZ production.

30 July 2020 | Published by CERN

University spin-out wins prestigious award for innovative work to improve rail network

Geoptic is helping Network Rail to investigate the overburden of tunnels using non-invasive imaging techniques drawn from particle physics.

10 July 2020

Dr Martin Dyer with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer

Researcher wins prize for work on gravitational wave telescope

Dr Martin Dyer has been awarded the Royal Astronomical Society’s Patricia Tomkins Thesis Prize.

19 June 2020

Chance of finding young Earth-like planets higher than previously thought, say Sheffield scientists

The team of researchers and undergraduate students studied these young Earth-like planets called magma ocean planets.

5 June 2020

Professor Lee Thompson in the control room of the SuperKamiokande detector

Scientists shed new light on the difference between matter and anti-matter

New research by an international collaboration indicates a difference in the behaviour of neutrinos and antineutrinos.

17 April 2020

The novel target mechanism designed by scientists at the University of Sheffield for a particle accelerator

Breakthrough made towards building the world’s most powerful particle accelerator

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) collaboration aims to demonstrate how to create a muon accelerator.

6 February 2020

University of Sheffield launches Quantum Centre to develop the technologies of tomorrow

The new centre has been set up to revolutionise computing, communication, sensing and imaging technologies.

22 January 2020