Brookhaven National Laboratory

Stories

Gold collisions at RHIC reveal unexpected dip in particle fluctuations

Operated RHIC from 2000 to 2026

Physicists at Brookhaven National Laboratory smashed gold nuclei together at nearly light speed and found an unexpected pattern in the debris. The momentum of particles flung sideways from the collisions dipped, then rose again, as collision energy changed.

Updated Nov 1

First radio telescope heads to Moon's far side

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Lead DOE institution for LuSEE-Night

The cosmic Dark Ages were a 200-million-year stretch after the Big Bang — just hydrogen gas, no stars. No instrument has ever detected light from this period: Earth's atmosphere blocks the radio frequencies, and human electronics drown out the faint signals.

Updated May 23