Decay just probes the whole mass within [a volume of] space

[GoodTaste]

But the particles should decay regardless of the density of their distribution. “Decay just probes the whole mass within [a volume of] space,” Fornengo says. “And the mass of a void is not a small number. It’s still a big object. It’s just less dense.”

Source: World News Era

The use of the word "probe" here appears odd to me. What does it mean? When investigators search and examine something, we say "the investigators probe something". But the decay of a particle occurs, not probes.

 

[jutfrank]

The only way I can make sense of it is that at work his team are in the habit of using the word 'decay' to talk about the particular probing technique they use to detect decay.

 

[probus]

Hesitantly and tentatively I suggest that they are using probe as a synonym for observe or investigate. Although the particles in the voids are very widely scattered and therefore unlikely to collide, those there are nevertheless sometimes decay spontaneously and emit gamma rays when they do so. That gamma radiation is distinguishable from the cosmic background radiation and therefore provides the only means of observing or investigating (probing) the voids.

 

[tedmc]

Hesitantly and tentatively I suggest that they are using probe as a synonym for observe or investigate. Although the particles in the voids are very widely scattered and therefore unlikely to collide, those there are nevertheless sometimes decay spontaneously and emit gamma rays when they do so. That gamma radiation is distinguishable from the cosmic background radiation and therefore provides the only means of observing or investigating (probing) the voids.

I think "are" is not meant to be there.

 

[probus]

You could omit "are" without changing the meaning, but I prefer and find it more natural with "are" @tedmc. Think of it as "those (that) there are".