Visual depiction of data from the
DZero experiment
DZero Experiment Finds the Top Quark
In March of 1995, the DZero collaboration at
Fermilab, led by Stony Brook scientist Dr. Paul Grannis, announced
that they had discovered the Top Quark, one of the six types of
quarks theorized to exist. The Top Quark is the last type
of quark to be observed, and this discovery is important
evidence in support of the quark theory of the structure of
matter—in which quarks make up all the protons,
neutrons and electrons in the universe.
Scientists looked for top quark evidence using the Tevatron
Accelerator, the world's highest energy particle collider.
The collider brings atoms together at high speeds. The
atoms break into their component parts, and scientists can
observe data on the collisions to find out more about the
structure of matter.
Another Fermilab collaboration, CDF, announced the
discovery of the Top Quark simultaneously with DZero,
further supporting the validity of the discovery.