Dark Matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in fundamental physics. Many theoretical proposals (axions, WIMPs) and 40 years of extensive experimental search have not explained what Dark Matter is. Several years ago, a theory that seeks to unify particle physics and gravity introduced a radically different possibility: superheavy, electrically charged gravitinos as Dark Matter candidates.
A recent paper in Physical Review Research by scientists from the University of Warsaw and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics shows that new underground detectors, in particular the JUNO detector that will soon begin taking data, are well-suited to detect charged Dark Matter gravitinos even though they were designed for neutrino physics. Simulations that bridge elementary particle physics with advanced quantum chemistry indicate that a gravitino would leave a signal in the detector that is unique and unambiguous.
In 1981, Nobel Prize laureate Murray Gell-Mann, who introduced quarks as fundamental constituents of matter, observed that the particles of the Standard Model—quarks and leptons—appear within a purely mathematical theory formulated two years earlier: N=8 supergravity, noted for its maximal symmetry. N=8 supergravity includes, in addition to the Standard Model matter particles of spin 1/2, a gravitational sector with the graviton (of spin 2) and 8 gravitinos of spin 3/2. If the Standard Model is indeed connected to N=8 supergravity, this relationship could point toward a solution to one of the hardest problems in theoretical physics — unifying gravity with particle physics. In its spin ½ sector, N=8 supergravity contains exactly 6 quarks (u, d, c, s, t, b) and 6 leptons (electron, muon, taon and neutrinos), and it forbids any additional matter particles.
A vulnerability in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting’s website allowed downloading of protected and private media for years, with the flaw quietly patched this month.
BleepingComputer was tipped about the flaw by a cybersecurity researcher who asked to remain anonymous, stating that the flaw has been exploited since at least 2021, even after the researcher previously reported it to the organization.
After contacting AAPB about the flaw, a spokesperson confirmed the issue, and the researcher validated that the fix was implemented within 48 hours.
Mozilla has announced a new feature that enables Firefox extension developers to roll back to previously approved versions, allowing them to quickly address critical bugs and issues.
Once the latest extension version is reverted, users will no longer be able to install it. If automatic updates are enabled, the web browser will also automatically revert the extension to the previous version within 24 hours for users who have installed the buggy version.
“If developing a revised version and obtaining a review won’t address the issue quickly enough, you can roll back to an earlier version of your extension. Users then update to the rolled back version when their browser next checks for extension updates, which, by default, means within 24 hours,” Mozilla says.
