No.
Magnetic monopoles remain hypothetical particles. Despite extensive searches, no conclusive evidence of their existence has been found.
The Valentine's Day Experiment
On February 14, 1982, physicist Blas Cabrera reported observing a single event consistent with a magnetic monopole. This became known as the "Valentine's Day Monopole." However, despite years of subsequent experiments, this observation was never replicated or confirmed. While intriguing, it remains our closest brush with a potential monopole discovery, but it is not considered conclusive evidence.
Current Experiments Searching for Magnetic Monopoles
Several ongoing experiments are dedicated to the search for magnetic monopoles:
- MoEDAL (Monopole and Exotics Detector at the LHC): Located at CERN, this experiment is specifically designed to search for magnetic monopoles and other highly ionizing particles.
- IceCube Neutrino Observatory: While primarily a neutrino detector, IceCube also searches for relativistic magnetic monopoles passing through the Antarctic ice.
- ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC: These large particle detectors at CERN also include magnetic monopole searches in their research programs.
- ANITA (Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna): This balloon-borne experiment searches for ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos and can potentially detect magnetic monopoles.
- Super-Kamiokande: This large water Cherenkov detector in Japan, while mainly studying neutrinos, also conducts searches for magnetic monopoles.
Despite these extensive efforts, no confirmed detection of magnetic monopoles has been made as of 2024.