The OPERA neutrino experiment at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory has measured the velocity of neutrinos from the CERN CNGS beam over a baseline of about 730 km with much higher accuracy than previous studies conducted with accelerator neutrinos. The measurement is based on high-statistics data taken by OPERA in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011. Dedicated upgrades of the CNGS timing system and of the OPERA detector, as well as a high precision geodesy campaign for the measurement of the neutrino baseline, allowed reaching comparable systematic and statistical accuracies.



Scientists across the world, and even at CERN - home of the Large Hadron Collider - have been sceptical about the OPERA finding. The OPERA measurements, if independently confirmed, would mean that, in theory, information could be sent into the past, making time travel possible. "Time travel seems to be the go-to topic when faster-than-light particles are mentioned, but don't hold out hope for a TARDIS just yet," physicist Dr Jonathan Carroll at the University of Adelaide wrote on The Conversation website, referring to a time-travelling machine featured in the British television drama Doctor Who.

But he said it was more likely the OPERA finding was the result of a mistake in the calculations or experiment. "The much more likely scenario is that the analysis has overlooked some seemingly insignificant but critical aspect, and that re-analysis will led to a very good agreement with the speed of light. "Should that be the case, the followup press release will no doubt refer to the 'Phantom of the OPERA'." Another physicist likened the CERN discovery to flying carpets, saying: "This is ridiculous what they're putting out.

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