Photo credit, Fermilab
This discovery contradicts one of the most important and successful theories of modern physics.
Near Chicago, USA, a team of scientists discovered that the mass of a subatomic particle does not have to be that way.
This measurement is the first definitive experimental result against the famous static model theory, which has been used for many years to determine the approximate mass of subatomic particles.
The team found that one of these particles, called the W boson, weighed more than the theory had predicted.
Professor David Tobek, the project’s co-spokesman, described the decision as “shocking” because it would lead to the development of a new, comprehensive theory of how the universe works.
“If the results are checked by other tests, the world will be different,” the educator told the BBC, who even imagines “a paradigm shift”.
“Famous astronomer Carl Sagan said, ‘Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence.’ We think we have it,” he added.
What is the result?
Scientists at the Fermilab Collider Detector (FCD) in Illinois have discovered a small difference from the mass and theory of the W boson: it’s only 0.1%.
If this is confirmed by other tests, the impacts will be enormous.
For fifty years, the standard model of particle physics has predicted the behavior and properties of subatomic particles without the slightest contradiction.
Photo credit, Fermilab
Fermilab is based in Illinois.
Another FCD spokesman, Professor Giorgio Ciarelli, told the BBC it was difficult to believe their eyes when the research team received the results.
“No one expected this. We thought we misunderstood.”
But the researchers reviewed their results and tried to find any errors.
They found nothing.
The findings, published in the journal Science, may be linked to traces of other experiments carried out during the Great Hatron Conflict (LHC) on the Fermilap and Franco-Swiss border.
These unconfirmed results also suggest deviations from the standard model, perhaps due to a fifth force of nature not yet discovered.
Renewal required
Physicists have known for some time that theory needs to be updated.
His assumptions cannot explain the existence of an invisible object in space called the dark matter, or the continuous accelerated expansion of the universe by a force called dark energy.
They cannot even explain the force of gravity.
Photo credit, CERN
Mitesh Patel, an expert at the Imperial College London, who works at the LHC, believes that if Fermilab’s results are confirmed, it will be the first in a long line 100 years after Einstein’s theory of relativity to mark the biggest change in our understanding of the universe. Before.
“The hope is that we will eventually see a dramatic discovery that not only confirms that the standard model is broken by interpretation of nature, but also gives us a new direction to help us understand what we are doing,” he said.
“If this is confirmed, new particles and new forces will have to be found to explain how to synchronize this data,” he added.
Precautions to take
But the enthusiasm of the physics community waned when reviewing previous experiments.
Although the Fermilap result is the most accurate measurement of the mass of the W boson to date, it does not match the other two accurate measurements obtained in previous experiments in accordance with the standard model.
Professor Ben Alanach, a theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge, says: “We need to know what’s going on in measurement.
“The two tests agree with each other and I am concerned that this test does not agree with the standard model,” he adds.
Photo credit, CERN
The Large Hadron Collider is built on a 27 km long circular tunnel under the Franco-Swiss border.
All eyes are now on the Large Hadron collision, which is set to resume its tests after a three-year upgrade.
It is hoped that these studies will provide the basis for a new, comprehensive theory of physics.
“Most scientists are a little wary,” says Patel.
“We’ve been there before, disappointed, but we all secretly believe it will be true, and we’ll see in our lifetime the change we hear in the history books,” he says.