Scientists at CERN have found evidence of an extremely rare particle decay, a process predicted to happen just once in every 10 billion cases, offering a glimpse into a largely unexplored subatomic world known as the 'zeptoverse'.
The discovery was made using the Large Hadron Collider, which smashes protons together to produce particles for study. The researchers focused on beauty particles, short-lived particles created in these collisions.
They found evidence of a transformation in which one beauty particle decays into other particles. The tiny scale involved is what scientists call the zeptoverse, an unexplored frontier where researchers hope to discover new fundamental particles.
Exploring the zeptoverse could help answer some of the biggest questions in physics, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which together account for about 95% of the universe.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The discovery opens a new frontier in particle physics, allowing scientists to study processes at scales never before observed.
- Understanding the zeptoverse could lead to breakthroughs in explaining dark matter and dark energy, the unseen forces that dominate the universe.
- It validates the predictive power of the Standard Model and may point beyond it.
Background
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It famously discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. This new finding involves beauty particles and a decay so rare it occurs only once in every 10 billion collisions, pushing the boundaries of experimental physics.
Key Perspectives
What to Watch
- Future experiments at CERN to confirm the decay and measure its properties precisely.
- Whether the zeptoverse yields any new particles or forces beyond the Standard Model.
- Potential implications for cosmology and our understanding of the universe's composition.
Checked
9 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.
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- SupportedCERN has found evidence of an extraordinarily rare particle decay, offering a glimpse into the zeptoverse.Euronews: “Scientists at CERN have found evidence of an extraordinarily rare particle decay, offering a glimpse into a largely unexplored world known as the 'zeptoverse'.”
- SupportedThe process is predicted to happen once in every 10 billion cases.Euronews: “something predicted to happen just once in every 10 billion cases.”
- SupportedExploring this area could help unlock secrets of dark matter and dark energy.Euronews: “Scientists believe exploring this tiny world could also help answer some of the biggest questions in physics, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy”
- SupportedScientists at CERN found evidence of the rare decay.Euronews: “Scientists at CERN have found evidence of an extraordinarily rare particle decay”
- SupportedThe discovery was made using the Large Hadron Collider, which smashes protons together to produce particles for study.Euronews: “The discovery was made using the Large Hadron Collider, which smashes protons together to produce particles that scientists can study.”
- SupportedThe researchers focused on beauty particles, which are short-lived particles created in the collisions.Euronews: “Researchers focused on beauty particles, short-lived particles created in these collisions.”
- SupportedThe researchers found evidence of a process in which one beauty particle decays into other particles.Euronews: “They found evidence of an extremely rare process in which one of these particles transforms into other particles”
- SupportedThe tiny scale is called the zeptoverse, an unexplored subatomic frontier where researchers hope to discover new fundamental particles.Euronews: “This incredibly small scale is what scientists call the 'zeptoverse': an unexplored frontier of the subatomic world, where researchers hope to discover new fundamental particles.”
- SupportedDark matter and dark energy together account for about 95% of the universe.Euronews: “dark matter and dark energy, which together account for around 95% of the universe.”
