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Do protons decay? The answer might be on the moon

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Do protons decay? The answer might be on the moon


Do protons decay? The answer might be on the moon
Model of proton decay. Credit: Wikipedia/Cjean42; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Does proton decay exist and how do we search for it? This is what a recently submitted study to the arXiv preprint server hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigate a concept of using samples from the moon to search for evidence of proton decay, which remains a hypothetical type of particle decay that has yet to be observed and continues to elude particle physicists.

This study holds the potential to help solve one of the longstanding mysteries in all of physics, as it could enable new studies into deep-level and the laws of nature, overall.

Here, Universe Today discusses this research with Dr. Patrick Stengel, who is a postdoctoral fellow in the Cosmology Group at INFN Ferrara Division, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant results, significance of searching for proton decay, implications for confirming the existence of proton decay, and turning their concept into reality. Therefore, what is the motivation behind the study?

Dr. Stengel tells Universe Today this research started around 2018 with lead author, Dr. Sebastian Baum, and other scientists regarding the use of paleo-detectors, which is a proposed method to examine particles that span vast periods of geological timeframes.

This led to discussions with study co-author, Dr. Joshua Spitz—who became interested in paleo-detectors after several papers examined their potential to search for dark matter—and one of Dr. Spitz’s Ph.D. students, regarding how paleo-detectors could be used to discover the existence of proton decay. However, the team published a study discussing how finding proton decay on Earth wasn’t possible due to atmospheric neutrinos.

“About one year after finishing atmospheric neutrino paper, Spitz suggested we consider mineral samples from the moon,” Dr. Stengel tells Universe Today. “Due to the lack of an atmosphere, the cosmic ray-induced neutrino flux on the moon is highly suppressed compared to the Earth. The corresponding suppression of the cosmic ray-induced neutrino interactions in paleo-detectors allows for a search for proton decay to at least be feasible in principle.”

For the study, the researchers proposed a hypothetical concept using paleo-detectors that would involve collecting mineral samples from more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) beneath the lunar surface and analyzing them for presence of proton decay, either on the moon itself or back on Earth.

The researchers note these lunar paleo-detector samples could yield proton lifetimes up to 1034 years. For context, the age of the universe is approximately 13.7 x 109 years. Therefore, what are the most significant results from this study?






Dr. Stengel tells Universe Today, “For a lunar mineral sample which is both sufficiently radiopure to mitigate radiogenic backgrounds and buried at sufficient depths for shielding from other cosmic ray backgrounds, we show that the sensitivity of paleo-detectors to proton decay could in principle be competitive with next-generation conventional proton decay experiments.”

As noted, proton decay continues to be a hypothetical type of particle decay and was first proposed in 1967 by the Soviet physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Dr. Andrei Sakharov. As its name implies, proton decay is hypothesized to occur when protons decays into particle smaller than an atom, also called subatomic particles.

As noted by this recent study and various previous studies, proton decay has yet to be discovered or observed. However, it is hypothesized to have the potential for better understanding our universe and the origin of life with quantum tunneling being proposed as a process of proton decay.

Therefore, what is the significance of searching for proton decay, and what implications could its existence have for science, and specifically the field of particle physics, overall?

Dr. Stengel tells Universe Today, “Proton decay is a generic prediction of particle physics theories beyond the Standard Model (SM). In particular, proton decay could be one of the only low energy predictions of so-called Grand Unified Theories (GUTs), which attempt to combine all of the forces which mediate SM interactions into one force at very high energies. Physicists have been designing and building experiments to look for proton decay for over 50 years.”

Dr. Stengel continues, “The discovery of proton decay, whether in a mineral detector or a more conventional experiment, would have incredible implications for science in general and particle physics in particular. Such a discovery would be the first confirmation of particle physics beyond the SM. Depending on how well the proton decay signal could be characterized, we could learn something about the fundamental theory of nature.”

As noted, the hypothetical concept proposed by this study using paleo-detectors to detect proton decay on the moon would require collecting samples at least 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) beneath the lunar surface. For context, the deepest humans have ever collected samples from beneath the lunar surface was just under 300 centimeters (118 inches) with the drill core samples obtained from the Apollo 17 astronauts.






On Earth, the deepest human-made hole is the Kola Superdeep Borehole in northern Russia and measures approximately 12.3 kilometers (7.6 miles) in true vertical depth, along with requiring several holes to be drilled and several years to achieve. While the study notes the proposed concept using paleo-detectors on the moon is “clearly futuristic,” what steps are required to take this concept from futuristic to realistic?

Dr. Stengel tells Universe Today, “As we are careful not to stray too far from our respective areas of expertise related to particle physics, we chose not to speculate much at all about the actual logistics of performing such an experiment on the moon. However, we also thought that this concept was timely as various scientific agencies across different countries are considering a return to the moon and planning for broad program of experiments.”

Dr. Stengel continues, “As you mention, the mineral samples would need to be extracted from at least about 5 km deep in the lunar crust. Thus, there would need to be a drilling rig delivered to and operated on the moon which is capable of reaching such depths. While this logistical challenge seems daunting, we point out that, e.g., NASA envisions sufficiently large payloads eventually being delivered to the moon as part of the Artemis program.”

As noted, this study comes as NASA’s Artemis program plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years with the goal of landing the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface, as well. Additionally, as scientific interest in paleo-detectors continues to grow, the concept proposed in this study could prove to be scientifically beneficial for not only discovering proton decay, but for us better understanding our place in the universe. Finally, it turns out that only a small sample will be necessary to make this proposed concept worth it.

Dr. Stengel tells Universe Today, “Due to the exposure of paleo-detectors to proton decay over billion-year timescales, only one kilogram of target material is necessary to be competitive with conventional experiments. In combination with the scientific motivation and the recent push towards returning humans to the moon for scientific endeavors, we think paleo-detectors could represent the final frontier in the search for proton decay.”

More information:
Sebastian Baum et al, The Final Frontier for Proton Decay, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2405.15845

Journal information:
arXiv


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Universe Today


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Do protons decay? The answer might be on the moon (2024, June 24)
retrieved 25 June 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-06-protons-decay-moon.html

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AI image generation adds to carbon footprint, research shows

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AI image generation adds to carbon footprint, research shows


AI image generation adds to carbon footprint
The tasks examined in our study and the average quantity of carbon emissions they produced (in g of ??2) for 1,000 queries. N.B. The y axis is in logarithmic scale. Credit: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2311.16863

So you program your thermostat to save heating costs, recycle glass and plastic, ride a bicycle to work instead of driving a car, reuse sustainable grocery bags, buy solar panels, and shower with your mate—all to do your part to conserve energy, curb waste and lower your carbon footprint.

A study released last week may just spoil your day.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Hugging Face, a machine learning community website, report that you might still contribute to climate change if you are one of the 10 million-plus users who tap into machine learning models daily.

In what they term the first systematic comparison of costs associated with machine-learning models, the researchers found that using an AI model to generate an image requires the same amount of energy as charging a smartphone.

“People think that AI doesn’t have any environmental impacts, that it’s this abstract technological entity that lives on a ‘cloud,'” said team leader Alexandra Luccioni. “But every time we query an AI model, it comes with a cost to the planet, and it’s important to calculate that.”

Her team tested 30 datasets using 88 models and found widespread differences in energy usage between varying types of tasks. They measured the amount of carbon dioxide emissions utilized per task.

The greatest amount of energy was expended by Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion XL, an image generator. Nearly 1,600 grams of carbon dioxide is produced during such a session. Luccioni said that is roughly the equivalent of driving four miles in a gas-powered car.

On the lowest end of the scale, basic text generation tasks expended the equivalent of a car driving just 3/500 of a mile.

Other categories of machine learning tasks included classifying images and text, image captioning, summarizations, and answering questions.

The researchers stated that generative tasks that create new content, such as images and summarizations, are more energy- and carbon-intensive than discriminative tasks, such as ranking movies.

They also observed that using multi-purpose models to undertake discriminative tasks is more energy-intensive than using task-specific models for the same tasks. This is important, the researchers said, because of recent trends in model usage.

“We find this last point to be the most compelling takeaway of our study, given the current paradigm shift away from smaller models fine-tuned for a specific task towards models that are meant to carry out a multitude of tasks at once, deployed to respond to a barrage of user queries in real-time,” the report said.

According to Luccioni, “If you’re doing a specific application, like searching through email … do you really need these big models that are capable of anything? I would say no.”

Although the numbers of carbon dioxide usage for such tasks may appear small, when multiplied by millions of users relying on AI-generated programs daily, often with multiple requests, the totals show what could amount to a significant impact on efforts to rein in environmental waste.

“I think that for generative AI overall, we should be conscious of where and how we use it, comparing its cost and its benefits,” Luccioni said.

The findings are published on the arXiv preprint server.

More information:
Alexandra Sasha Luccioni et al, Power Hungry Processing: Watts Driving the Cost of AI Deployment?, arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2311.16863

Journal information:
arXiv


© 2023 Science X Network

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AI image generation adds to carbon footprint, research shows (2023, December 4)
retrieved 25 June 2024
from https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-ai-image-generation-carbon-footprint.html

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Analysis of data suggests homosexual behavior in other animals is far more common than previously thought

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Analysis of data suggests homosexual behavior in other animals is far more common than previously thought


Meta-analysis of prior research data suggests homosexual behavior in other animals far more common than thought
Researchers widely observe yet seldom publish about same-sex sexual behavior in primates and other mammals – often because it is perceived to be rare. Credit: Selvan Tamilmani, Unsplash, CC0 (creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

A team of anthropologists and biologists from Canada, Poland, and the U.S., working with researchers at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, has found via meta-analysis of data from prior research efforts that homosexual behavior is far more common in other animals than previously thought. The paper is published in PLOS ONE.

For many years, the biology community has accepted the notion that homosexuality is less common in animals than in humans, despite a lack of research on the topic. In this new effort, the researchers sought to find out if such assumptions are true.

The work involved study of 65 studies into the behavior of multiple species of animals, mostly mammals, such as elephants, squirrels, monkeys, rats and racoons.

The researchers found that 76% of the studies mentioned observations of homosexual behavior, though they also noted that only 46% had collected data surrounding such behavior—and only 18.5% of those who had mentioned such behavior in their papers had focused their efforts on it to the extent of publishing work with homosexuality as it core topic.

They noted that homosexual behavior observed in other species included mounting, intromission and oral contact—and that researchers who identified as LGBTQ+ were no more or less likely to study the topic than other researchers.

The researchers point to a hesitancy in the biological community to study homosexuality in other species, and thus, little research has been conducted. They further suggest that some of the reluctance has been due to the belief that such behavior is too rare to warrant further study.

The research team suggests that homosexuality is far more common in the animal kingdom than has been reported—they further suggest more work is required regarding homosexual behaviors in other animals to dispel the myth of rarity.

More information:
Karyn A. Anderson et al, Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey, PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304885

© 2024 Science X Network

Citation:
Analysis of data suggests homosexual behavior in other animals is far more common than previously thought (2024, June 24)
retrieved 25 June 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-06-analysis-homosexual-behavior-animals-common.html

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Following in parents’ educational footsteps offers financial rewards, study shows

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Following in parents’ educational footsteps offers financial rewards, study shows


Following in parents' educational footsteps reaps financial rewards
Income difference in percent if parents have a degree in the same field of study (selection). Credit: The British Journal of Sociology (2024). DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.13090

Lawyers, doctors and engineers who have studied in the same field as their parents have higher incomes than their colleagues, according to a new Danish study published in The British Journal of Sociology. While this could be a sign of nepotism or other forms of discrimination, the explanation is likely to be something else entirely.

“Nepo baby” is the less flattering term for children who get jobs in the same field as their parents, helped by their parents’ connections and reputation. The children are given a head start in a working life where the route to success is not just about ability and talent.

In the cultural or media world in particular, “nepo babies” provoke debate. But in a broader and more general sense, is it also an advantage to have the same education as one’s parents? And if so, what are the mechanisms at work?

Assistant Professor Jesper Fels Birkelund, from the Department of Sociology, explores these questions in a new study. He maps the income of 40-year-olds who have followed their father’s or mother’s educational path and compares it with the many who have not.

The study examines the earnings advantage of having a degree in the same field of study as one’s parents. The main findings are based on extensive statistical analyses of register data on 139,000 Danes born between 1960 and 1979. Everyone in the sample attended academic upper secondary education and—like their parents—obtained at least a bachelor’s degree, including a professional bachelor’s degree.

Using a special methodological approach, the study also compares the income of siblings who did or did not choose the same education as their parents. This is done to rule out family-specific explanations for income differences—for example, that families in which a child follows in its parents’ footsteps are more resourceful or characterized by stronger emotional ties between parents and children.

The extensive statistical analysis concludes that there is generally a small financial advantage to having the same higher education as one’s parents. However, the study also documents that the picture varies greatly according to educational background.

“The association is most clear for medicine, law and, to some extent, engineering. Doctors or lawyers earn on average 5%–10% more if at least one of their parents has a degree in the same field of study. However, these significant differences are only found in a few professions. For many public sector employees, such as nurses and teachers, salaries are so regulated that there is no effect.”

The differences between fields also mean that the overall earnings effect of following in one’s parents’ footsteps is smaller. Across all areas of education, the effect is around 2%. At the same time, however, the new study adds nuance to other studies that have shown that an individual’s social background becomes less important for their labor market success once they have a bachelor’s degree.

No signs of nepotism

But what explains why children of doctors, lawyers and engineers seem to benefit financially from having the same education as their parents?

According to Fels Birkelund, the evidence points to a particular factor, especially for the first two groups. “Relatively many doctors and lawyers have income from self-employment, for example from a private medical or legal practice. And the differences in income are largely due to the higher income from this source.

“So children who follow in their parents’ footsteps are more likely than others to be successfully self-employed.”

And they seem to get by without direct help from their parents. There is nothing in the study to suggest that the children have benefited from any special privileges or actual nepotism: They rarely take over their parents’ businesses. And they are not more likely to be employed in companies where people from their parents’ network hold senior management positions.

“The study thereby excludes some mechanisms that are typically brought up in the ‘nepotism’ debate. For example, that children use their parents’ social networks to get a job,” says Fels Birkelund.

Benefits from the upbringing

Because of its broad design, the study cannot map nepotism in small niches such as the cultural and media world. Nor can it identify the general mechanisms that make some people better at generating income through their own business or otherwise.

However, Fels Birkelund points out that children generally receive some generic skills from their upbringing and parents. A human and cultural “capital” that helps them later in life.

“They may have been instilled with a particular entrepreneurial spirit or learned to thrive in certain professional environments. They may also have developed certain skills while growing up. For example, you could imagine that the children of engineers might have played more with technical toys than others. The study can’t pinpoint the exact mechanisms, but it suggests that there’s more at play than just nepotism.”

More information:
Jesper Fels Birkelund, Economic returns to reproducing parents’ field of study, The British Journal of Sociology (2024). DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.13090

Citation:
Following in parents’ educational footsteps offers financial rewards, study shows (2024, June 24)
retrieved 25 June 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-06-parents-footsteps-financial-rewards.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.





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New security loophole allows spying on internet users visiting websites and watching videos

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New security loophole allows spying on internet users visiting websites and watching videos


New security loophole allows spying on internet users visiting websites and watching videos
The “SnailLoad” loophole is based on combining the latency of internet connections with the fingerprinting of online content. Credit: IAIK – TU Graz

Internet users leave many traces on websites and online services. Measures such as firewalls, VPN connections and browser privacy modes are in place to ensure a certain level of data protection. However, a newly discovered security loophole allows bypassing all of these protective measures.

Computer scientists from the Institute of Applied Information Processing and Communication Technology (IAIK) at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) were able to track users’ online activities in detail simply by monitoring fluctuations in the speed of their internet connection. No malicious code is required to exploit this vulnerability, known as “SnailLoad,” and the data traffic does not need to be intercepted. All types of end devices and internet connections are affected.

The researchers have published their work in a paper titled “SnailLoad: Exploiting Remote Network Latency Measurements without JavaScript.”

Attackers track latency fluctuations in the internet connection via file transfer

Attackers only need to have had direct contact with the victim on a single occasion beforehand. On that occasion, the victim downloads a basically harmless, small file from the attacker’s server without realizing it—for example, while visiting a website or watching an advertising video.

As this file does not contain any malicious code, it cannot be recognized by security software. The transfer of this file is extremely slow, providing the attacker with continuous information about the latency variation of the victim’s internet connection. In further steps, this information is used to reconstruct the victim’s online activity.

‘SnailLoad’ combines latency data with fingerprinting of online content

“When the victim accesses a website, watches an online video or speaks to someone via video, the latency of the internet connection fluctuates in a specific pattern that depends on the particular content being used,” says Stefan Gast from the IAIK. This is because all online content has a unique fingerprint: For efficient transmission, online content is divided into small data packages that are sent one after the other from the host server to the user. The pattern of the number and size of these data packages is unique for each piece of online content—like a human fingerprint.

The researchers collected the fingerprints of a limited number of YouTube videos and popular websites in advance for testing purposes. When the test subjects used these videos and websites, the researchers were able to recognize this through the corresponding latency fluctuations.

“However, the attack would also work the other way round,” says Daniel Gruss from the IAIK. “Attackers first measure the pattern of latency fluctuations when a victim is online and then search for online content with the matching fingerprint.”

Slow internet connections make it easier for attackers

When spying on test subjects who were watching videos, the researchers achieved a success rate of up to 98%.

“The higher the data volume of the videos and the slower the victims’ internet connection, the better the success rate,” says Gruss. Consequently, the success rate for spying on basic websites dropped to around 63%.

“However, if attackers feed their machine learning models with more data than we did in our test, these values will certainly increase,” says Gruss.

Loophole virtually impossible to close

“Closing this security gap is difficult. The only option would be for providers to artificially slow down their customers’ internet connections in a randomized pattern,” says Gruss. However, this would lead to noticeable delays for time-critical applications such as video conferences, live streams or online computer games.

The team led by Gast and Gruss has set up a website describing SnailLoad in detail. They will present the scientific paper on the loophole at the conferences Black Hat U.S. 2024 and USENIX Security Symposium.

More information:
Stefan Gast et al, SnailLoad: Exploiting Remote Network Latency Measurements without JavaScript (2024)

Citation:
New security loophole allows spying on internet users visiting websites and watching videos (2024, June 24)
retrieved 25 June 2024
from https://techxplore.com/news/2024-06-loophole-spying-internet-users-websites.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.





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