Belgian-American physicist wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for "ghost particles"

Belgian-American physicist wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for "ghost particles"

Belgian-American physicist won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday, October 14, for his pioneering work in creating an observatory to detect some of the world's most elusive particles, energetic neutrinos, and how they are created.

🔸Francis Halzen found in his research that Antarctic ice can be used to track neutrinos; particles that sometimes pass through the Earth and the human body without leaving a trace are called "ghost particles" and interact with matter only in very rare cases.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that neutrino interactions recorded by the IceCube observatory in Antarctica provide researchers with information on how energetic neutrinos are produced and may even lead to the discovery of unknown cosmic phenomena. Mark Pearce, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a statement: "Francis Halzen led an international team of researchers and engineers that provided us with an exciting tool."

He added: "His persistence and scientific vision paved the way for a new type of astronomy."

The American magazine "Smithsonian" in 2014, when presenting one of its "genius" awards to Halzen, called him the "Neutrino Man" and honored him for a "groundbreaking experiment that opened a new era in astronomy."

Eva Olsson of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said at a press conference: "These messengers bring with them information from the universe. They open doors to distant galaxies and tell us about the processes related to stellar explosions."

Read the full version of the report on the Radio Farda website.