It is a finding that contradicts one of the most important and successful theories of modern Physics.
On the outskirts of Chicago, in the USA, a group of scientists has discovered that the mass of a subatomic particle is not what it should be.
This measurement is the first conclusive experimental result that disagrees with the famous Standard Model theory, which has served for years to determine the approximate mass of subatomic particles.
The team found that one such particle, known as W bosonweighs more than the theory predicts.
The result has been described as “shocking” by Professor David Toback, a co-spokesperson for the project, as it might lead to the development of a new and more comprehensive theory of how the Universe works.
“If the results are verified by other experiments, the world will look different,” the academic tells the BBC, who even sees “a paradigm shift.”
“The famous astronomer Carl Sagan said that ‘extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence’. We think we have that,” he added.
what was the find
The scientists of Fermilab Collider Detector (FCD) in Illinois have found a tiny difference in the mass of the W boson compared to what theory says it should be: it’s only 0.1%.
But if it is confirmed with other experiments, the implications are enormous.
The so-called Standard Model of particle physics has predicted the behavior and properties of subatomic particles without discrepancies of any kind for fifty years.
The other CDF co-spokesperson, Professor Georgio Chiarelli, told the BBC that the research team might hardly believe their eyes when they got the results.
“Nobody expected this. We thought maybe we were wrong regarding something.”
But the researchers thoroughly reviewed their results and tried to look for errors.
The finding, published in the journal Sciencemight be related to clues from other experiments at Fermilab and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC, for its acronym in English), located on the border between Switzerland and France.
These results, not yet confirmed, also suggest deviations from the standard model, possibly resulting from an as yet undiscovered fifth force of nature.
Update needed
Physicists have known for some time that the theory needs updating.
His postulates cannot explain the presence of invisible material in space, the so-called Dark Matter, nor the continued accelerated expansion of the Universe by a force called Dark Energy.
Mitesh Patel, an expert at Imperial College London working on the LHC, believes that if the Fermilab result is confirmed, it might be the first of many that might herald the biggest shift in our understanding of the Universe since Einstein’s theories of relativity. 100 years ago.
“The hope is that in the end we will see a spectacular finding that not only confirms that the Standard Model has collapsed as a description of nature, but also gives us a new direction to help us understand who we are,” he said.
“If this holds up, there have to be new particles and new forces to explain how to make these data consistent,” he added.
precautions
But enthusiasm in the physics community tempers when past experiments are reviewed.
Although the Fermilab result is the most precise measurement of the W boson’s mass to date, it does not match two of the most precise measurements from previous experiments that are in line with the Standard Model.
“We need to know what’s going on with the measurement,” says Professor Ben Allanach, a theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge.
“The fact that we have two other experiments that agree with each other and with the Standard Model and strongly disagree with this experiment worries me,” he adds.
The Hadron Collider is built in a 27 km long circular tunnel under the French-Swiss border.
All eyes are now on Large Hadron Collider, that you must restart your experiments following a three-year update.
The hope is that these studies will provide the results that will lay the foundations for a new, more complete theory of Physics.
“Most scientists will be a bit cautious,” says Patel.
“We’ve been here before and we’ve been disappointed, but we all secretly hope that this is really the case and that in our lifetime we can see the kind of transformation that we’ve read regarding in the history books,” he says.
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