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Supernovae have long been a key laboratory for exploring new physics in the Universe. Dr. Yen-Hsun Lin and Associate Research Fellow Meng-Ru Wu from the Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, in collaboration with Korean researchers, have proposed a novel approach to search for new particles. By using the circumstellar medium ejected by a supernova progenitor prior to explosion, they propose a new avenue for probing feebly interacting particles (FIPs). This study opens a new observational channel for exploring new physics and unknown particles in the cosmos, helping to deepen our understanding of the fundamental components of the Universe and the laws of nature.

These new particles that could be detected through the circumstellar medium, such as dark photons, may be produced during the core collapse of a supernova and propagate outward. They subsequently decay into electron-positron pairs, injecting energy into the surrounding circumstellar medium, heating it and causing it to glow, and potentially even sublimating circumstellar dust. These phenomena may leave unique precursor signals prior to the supernova shock breakout. Using observational data from SN 2023ixf in the Pinwheel Galaxy, the research team explored regions of parameter space that had not previously been probed by supernova observations. This study is the first to systematically use the circumstellar medium as a tool to search for new physics. If a supernova occurs within the Milky Way in the future, this method could be used to further search for signatures of unknown FIPs.

This study was conducted in collaboration with researchers in Korea, including Dr. Yu Cheng at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Dr. Chui-Fan Kong at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), and Assistant Professor Seokhoon Yun from the Department of Physics at Kyungpook National University. The findings were published in Physical Review Letters on Sept. 11, 2026.