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PARTICLE PHYSICS

Searches for magnetic monopoles

Nature Reviews Physics volume 4, page 84 (2022)Cite this article

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Magnetic monopoles are hypothetical particles with an isolated south or north pole: the magnetic equivalent of the elementary electric charge. They are predicted by different beyond-standard-model theories and also appear in cosmology and string theory. Two recent studies look for magnetic monopoles in very different, and rather exotic, places.

Lead–lead collisions at LHC can produce magnetic fields of 1016 T, that are four orders of magnitude higher than the strongest known astrophysical magnetic fields, those on the surface of fast-spinning neutron stars. Such strength is more than enough for the predicted production of magnetic monopoles.

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  1. Nature Reviews Physics https://www.nature.com/natrevphys/

    Iulia Georgescu

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  1. Iulia Georgescu
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Correspondence to Iulia Georgescu.

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Georgescu, I. Searches for magnetic monopoles. Nat Rev Phys 4, 84 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-022-00428-4

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