School of Physics and Astronomy

School receives Silver Lab Award for sustainable research practices.

The School of Physics and Astronomy has taken a significant step towards a greener research culture, building on its Changemaker Award in the School’s Biolabs, achieved in 2023. The School has now strengthened its commitment to environmental stewardship by achieving the prestigious Silver Sustainable Lab Award under the University’s Sustainable Lab Awards programme.

This accreditation is designed for wet-lab environments—settings where energy, water, and chemical consumption can be particularly intensive—and recognises the School’s proactive efforts to embed sustainability into day-to-day research practices.

The Silver Lab Award acknowledges teams that go beyond basic compliance, implementing resource-efficient procedures and environmentally responsible ways of working. Silver-level criteria cover a wide range of areas, including energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, cold-storage optimisation, chemical and gas handling, water minimisation, and knowledge sharing, all building on the foundational Bronze standards.

Importantly, the School’s achievement aligns with emerging expectations across the research landscape. Major UK and international funders are increasingly requiring applicants to demonstrate concrete commitments to sustainability as part of grant eligibility and assessment. Organisations such as the Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) are now integrating environmental sustainability criteria into their funding processes, asking applicants to show how their research will reduce resource use and associated emissions.

For the School of Physics and Astronomy, attaining the Silver Award not only supports the University’s Strategy 2030 sustainability ambitions and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but also positions the School to meet these evolving expectations from external funders.

This project was led by Neil Corsie (Health & Safety Manager and Deputy Technical Services Manager), with the essential work carried out by the School’s dedicated laboratory technicians and staff, and with valuable support from the Head of School.

Scientists on the MicroBooNE experiment are closing the door on one explanation for a neutrino mystery that has plagued them for decades.

Latest results

An international collaboration of scientists working on the MicroBooNE experiment announced that they have found no evidence for a fourth type of neutrino.

Earlier physics experiments saw neutrinos behaving in a way inconsistent with the Standard Model of particle physics. Theorists have suggested that a sterile neutrino could explain those anomalies.

However, with this new result, MicroBooNE has been able to rule out a single sterile neutrino explanation with 95% certainty.

The Standard Model & Neutrinos

The Standard Model is the best theory scientists have for explaining how the universe works. However, it is incomplete as it doesn’t account for dark matter, dark energy or gravity.

Physicists are therefore on the hunt for new physics that may shed light on some of the biggest mysteries in the universe, and part of this search leads them to study neutrinos.

According to the Standard Model there are three types, or flavours, of neutrino: muon, electron and tau. A number of mysteries surround these subatomic particles, and scientists observed unexpected behaviour that led them to consider the possibility of a sterile neutrino.

Edinburgh involvement

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy have led the development of using the NuMI (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) beam for neutrino measurements, specifically the first measurements of electron-neutrino interactions on argon.

Edinburgh scientists have also led the major effort to process the data and simulations used to obtain these most recent results. Currently, the group is working on novel methods of identifying neutrinos from anti-neutrinos using their topologies, and is also working on the next generation measurements with the recently turned on Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) experiment.

What is MicroBooNE?

MicroBooNE is the first large liquid-argon time projection chamber to acquire a high-statistics sample of neutrino interactions. MicroBooNE’s cutting-edge technology can record incredibly precise 3D images of neutrino events, providing detailed information about how these elusive particles interact.

MicroBooNE is one of three experiments hosted by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory short-baseline (or short-distance) neutrino program.

The MicroBooNE is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’sFermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the collaboration consists of 193 scientists from 40 institutions, including national labs and universities from six countries.

This latest research was published in Nature.

Science exhibition attendees learned about the mysterious substance that makes up around 80% of all matter in the universe.

Visitors at the New Scientist Live event in London had the opportunity to step into a life-sized detector to hunt for dark matter signals.

Attendees also had the chance to engage with hands-on activities explaining dark matter, and a Cosmic Cube detecting live cosmic rays.

The ‘Underground Dark Matter Searches UK’ stand was designed by researchers from the University of Edinburgh. The walk-in detector used data from the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment, which is located 1 mile underground in South Dakota, USA, to light up 240 LEDs with the same patterns seen in the real detector.

What is dark matter?

Scientists are not sure yet, but they know it makes up 80% of the matter in our universe, and that it shapes galaxies and holds cosmic structures together. They think that dark matter may be a new fundamental particle - called a WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particle). The hunt for WIMPs leads them deep underground where experiments, such as the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) detector, are shielded from cosmic rays. Scientists from UK institutions are key contributors to the LZ experiment. The next generation dark matter detector, XLZD, will take us even closer to answering one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics. Several sites are being considered to host this detector, with the shortlist including the UK’s Boulby Underground Laboratory.

New Scientist Live

New Scientist Live brings together experts in science, technology and innovation for three days of discovery each autumn.

With over 26,000 people attending, 70 inspiring speakers, five dynamic stages and more than 90 hands-on exhibits, visitors explored everything from the mysteries of the cosmos to the future of health, climate and AI.

Thanks to colleagues from the LUX-ZEPLIN and XLZD collaborations for their contribution to the Underground Dark Matter Searches UK stand.

Congratulations to students who received medals, certificates, prizes and scholarships at the School’s Undergraduate and MSc Student Awards Ceremony.

Head of School, Professor Philip Best announced the awards in recognition of excellent performance and achievements from Undergraduate and MSc students during the past academic year.

Certificates & Medals

164 pre-honours students (years 1 & 2) received Certificates of Merit for outstanding marks in their pre-honours courses. Class Medals are awarded to individuals who have received the highest overall mark for their degree programme, with 23 undergraduate and 4 MSc students in receipt of Class Medals.

Prizes and Scholarships

The School has a number of Prizes and Scholarships to award, including a prize for the year 5 student with the highest classification on the Astrophysics MPhys programme, a prize for the year 4 student with the best Senior Honours poster, and a prize for the student who has produced the best Summer Scholarship Poster. A total of 25 Prizes and Scholarships were awarded to the undergraduate students who achieved outstanding results in their subject area or year. 

Many congratulations to all recipients.

In two related studies, scientists uncover surprising insights into the chemistry of giant planets.

What is metallic hydrogen?

Metallic hydrogen is believed to be the most abundant condensed material in the universe, existing deep inside giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn.

Because metallic hydrogen can only form under immense pressures, it has been almost impossible to study in the laboratory. As a result, much of what scientists know about this material comes from theoretical models.

A new theoretical study has revealed that chemistry in the extreme environments of metallic hydrogen could be far more complex than previously thought.

Scientists used quantum mechanics to investigate how carbon, nitrogen and oxygen behave in metallic hydrogen.

Their simulations revealed that these elements can react with each other and with hydrogen to form stable, covalently bonded molecules — including CH₆, C₂H₈, C₃H₁₀, OH₃, NH₄ and CH₄OH. These compounds are known as hypermolecules, due to their unusually high hydrogen content.

Remarkably, the findings suggest that organic molecules can survive in the extreme pressures and temperatures of planets such as Jupiter and Saturn — conditions that are very different from those found on Earth.

Juno space probe

If organic molecules can survive in the extreme pressures of these planets, one might assume we could find them there.

Planets are expected to have a structure where the heaviest elements fall to the centre, forming a heavy core: for Earth this is mainly molten iron. Giant planets are mainly formed of hydrogen, and as a result of the extreme pressures deep in their interior, the hydrogen becomes first liquid, then metallic.  

Cast your mind back to 2016, when NASA’s Juno space probe arrived on Jupiter to undertake a mission to explore the planet. It was predicted that Jupiter’s core might consist of giant diamonds, rocks, ice or heavy metals. What they found was more surprising - there is no core.

In studies led by the Edinburgh team, results show that almost all elements will dissolve in metallic hydrogen, and so any heavy elements on a planet such as Jupiter are largely dissolved within the hydrogen layer.

Crucially, the study also indicates that carbon, oxygen and nitrogen may dissolve readily in metallic hydrogen. This raises new questions about the internal structure of giant planets and whether they can contain distinct rocky cores, as often assumed.

By providing the first detailed picture of possible chemical interactions in metallic hydrogen, these research studies open a new window on planetary science and high-pressure chemistry.

The late Professor Peter Higgs has gifted his Nobel Prize to the University of Edinburgh, where he first proposed an idea that would transform our understanding of the universe.

The pioneering physicist has left the internationally prestigious medal to the institution in his will, following his death aged 94 in April 2024.

It will be preserved by the University’s Centre for Research Collections and displayed at events and exhibitions, including the upcoming Higgs Lecture in 2026.

Professor Higgs is known and lauded worldwide for predicting the existence of a fundamental physical particle that came to bear his name – the Higgs boson. 

He was a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in 1964 when he predicted the particle, which enables other particles to acquire mass. 

This idea was validated by experiments almost 50 years later, at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland in 2012. 

The discovery was followed by the award of a Nobel Prize in Physics for Professor Higgs in 2013, which he shared with François Englert of Belgium. 

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said:

This generous gift will ensure that Peter Higgs’ extraordinary contributions to science will continue to inspire generations of students and researchers. We are profoundly honoured to have been entrusted with his Nobel Prize medal, an object of immense historical significance and a lasting emblem of his legacy.

Born in 1929 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Peter Higgs joined the staff of the University of Edinburgh in 1960, when he took up a lectureship at the Tait Institute of Mathematical Physics and became Personal Chair of Theoretical Physics in 1980. He retired in 1996, becoming Professor Emeritus. 

The Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics was established by the University of Edinburgh in 2012 to recognise Professor Higgs’ achievements and create opportunities for students and researchers from around the world to formulate new theoretical concepts.

Professor Neil Turok, Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, said:

The prediction of the Higgs boson was a theoretical breakthrough, fundamental to our understanding of the laws of physics. It is fitting that Peter Higgs’ Nobel Prize medal is now preserved at Edinburgh, forming a lasting part of the University’s scientific heritage. Through our Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, his seminal discovery continues to serve as a springboard for those seeking answers to some of the deepest mysteries of our universe.

A plaque commemorating Professor Higgs’ legacy can be found at Roxburgh Street in Edinburgh. The installation marks the site where he first devised the theory of the Higgs boson particle. 

New interdisciplinary hub, Edinburgh Centre for Biomedical Physics, tackles health challenges.

The newly established Edinburgh Centre for Biomedical Physics will bring together researchers from physics, chemistry, biology, data science and medicine to tackle pressing challenges in human and animal health.

The Centre will focus on areas such as advanced medical imaging (including PET and machine-learning-enhanced image analysis), the physical and molecular mechanisms underlying diseases such as cancer, conditions like autism, and the physics of viruses and infection spread. By combining experimental, computational, and theoretical expertise, the Centre aims to address some of the most complex problems in modern biomedicine – problems that no single discipline can solve alone.

The Centre will act as a hub linking the School of Physics and Astronomy with clinical and research partners across the University, including the Little France campus, the Roslin Institute, and the Institute for Genetics and Cancer at the Western General. Everyone with an interest in physics-driven approaches to clinical problems is very welcome within the Centre going forward.

In addition to supporting collaborations and training, the Centre will host a seminar series across its main research themes and a yearly workshop for the wider research community. Longer-term plans include developing an MSc programme in Biomedical Physics and exploring opportunities for joint PhD training.

As the first centre of its kind in Scotland focused on the interface of physics, modelling and molecular-scale biomedical mechanisms, it will provide a unique environment for interdisciplinary discovery with long-term benefits for research, healthcare innovation and society.

Professor Jim Dunlop, former Head of School said:

The Edinburgh Centre for Biomedical Physics represents a very exciting step forward for our School and our partners across the University. By bringing together complementary expertise from the physical and life sciences, the Centre will enable new approaches to important questions in biomedical science. Our School can be genuinely proud of the key role that our physicists have played in shaping the interdisciplinary collaborations which underpin the Centre. This exciting initiative has the potential to redefine the future of this vital and rapidly evolving field.

Families enjoyed a night of spooky science at the Annual Higgs Halloween Lecture.

Families, students and members of the public gathered at the Anatomy Lecture Theatre on 30 October for this year’s Higgs Halloween Lecture — A Dangerous Shade of Green — an evening of spooky science, colour and curiosity.

Speaker Dr Drew Rosen from the School of Physics and Astronomy explored the fascinating history and science behind pigments and poisons, revealing how one particular shade of green concealed a toxic secret.

The interactive talk delved into how we see and measure colour, combining science and storytelling to uncover a spine-tingling side of discovery.

The evening was designed for family fun, with children —and adults — dressed in Halloween costumes. Prizes were awarded for the most creative outfits and the spookiest jokes.

The Higgs Halloween Lecture is an annual event bringing science to life for audiences of all ages — blending education, entertainment and a hint of fright.

Congratulations to Peter Black, who received a Technician Award for his contributions to advancing research and innovation.

In September 2025, colleagues celebrated the third annual University of Edinburgh Technician Awards. With over 100 nominations across five categories, the Awards highlighted the skill, creativity, and dedication that technicians bring to the University. 

Peter Black, Nuclear Physics Lab Manager in the School of Physics and Astronomy was joint winner of the Contribution to Research and Innovation award category, which recognises technical staff who have made significant contributions to advancing research and innovation within their field.

Peter was praised for his inventive design solutions, including leading the development of a new compact scattering chamber for silicon detector experiments. His ingenuity has advanced the School’s international research profile and inspired colleagues and students alike.

The winners and the shortlisted nominees were presented with certificates and vouchers at the award ceremony by Professor Kim Graham, Provost, and Dr Catherine Martin, Vice-Principal Corporate Services.

Researchers have unveiled a powerful new way to control ultra-thin magnetic materials which could pave the way for faster, greener technologies for computing and data storage.

Ultrathin magnets

Two-dimensional (2D) magnets are sheets of magnetic material only a few atoms thick. Because they are so thin, their magnetic behaviour can be tuned far more easily than in conventional bulk magnets. This makes them a hot candidate for spintronics devices, which use the spin of electrons instead of their charge to process and store information. Spintronic devices promise to be much faster and more energy-efficient than today’s electronics.

Ground breaking discovery

A team of researchers led by Dr Elton Santos from the School of Physics and Astronomy, showed that femtosecond laser pulses (that’s millionths of a billionth of a second) can flip the magnetisation of these materials at speeds far beyond traditional magnetic switching. Doing so with light rather than magnetic fields slashes the energy cost of each switching event and removes the need for mechanical components, allowing denser information storage with less wear and tear, significantly expanding their lifetime. The findings are featured on the front cover of Advanced Materials.

Challenges

However, this ultra-fast control comes with a challenge: heat. When such intense, ultrashort pulses hit a tiny magnetic layer, the material heats up almost instantly. If the heat can’t escape, it slows down or even disrupts the switching process. For real-world applications, controlling how heat flows away from these atom-thin layers is just as important as controlling their magnetism.

Substrate influence

To address this, the team tested three representative 2D magnets (semiconducting Cr₂Ge₂Te₆, insulating CrI₃ and metallic Fe₃GeTe₂) on a wide range of underlying substrates such as silicon dioxide, hexagonal boron nitride, graphene and other crystals. They discovered that simply choosing a different substrate changes how quickly the magnet heats and cools, and therefore how quickly it can be switched on and off by light. Substrates with higher thermal conductivity act like miniature heat sinks, letting the magnet cool down and recover its state much faster.

They also found that thinner magnetic layers reset their magnetisation more quickly than thicker ones, and that the timescales follow a clear trend linked to the substrate’s heat-handling properties. On top of the thermal effects, the researchers observed fleeting bursts of spin-polarized currents at the interface (a kind of ultrafast spin signal) that doesn’t appear in conventional thin films. These currents could be harnessed for new types of high-frequency spintronic circuits operating in the gigahertz range.

Implications

Together, these results give engineers a toolkit for designing devices where magnetism, heat and speed can be tuned on demand. In practical terms, that could mean much faster and more energy-efficient hard drives, memory chips and logic devices — all operating with light pulses instead of heavy electrical currents. It could also enable entirely new architectures for data-intensive tasks such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and telecommunications, where today’s electronics face rising energy costs and heat bottlenecks.

By showing how to integrate ultrathin magnets with the right supporting materials, this research brings the dream of low-power, ultrafast spintronic technology a major step closer — and highlights the unique potential of 2D materials to go beyond the limits of today’s magnetic devices.