A particle can be the key to understanding dark matter.
Scientists have discovered a new particle that is a “magnetic relative” of the Higgs boson. But if it took the power of the Large Hadron Collider to detect the latter, a new particle called the Higgs axial boson was detected by an experiment that could be performed on a small kitchen countertop, according to Live Science.
This new one. a particle can be a candidate for dark matter – a mysterious substance, which accounts for 85% of the universe, but which manifests itself only through gravity.
Read also: Physicists have managed to recreate the exotic “X particle” of the Big Bang p>
“When my student showed me the results, I thought she was wrong. It's not every day that you find a new particle “sitting” on your desk, “said study lead author Kenneth Birch of Boston University.
The main difference between the Higgs axial boson and its” brother “is that it has a magnetic force that creates a magnetic field. That is, a more complex theory is needed to describe it than for the Higgs boson.
In the Standard Model of Particle Physics, particles arise from various fields that permeate the universe, and some of them form its fundamental forces. For example, photons mediate electromagnetism, and massive particles known as W and Z bosons mediate the weak nuclear interaction that controls nuclear decay at the subatomic level. However, when the universe was young and hot, electromagnetism and weak interaction were one, and all these particles were almost identical. As the universe cooled, the electroweak force split, causing the W and Z bosons to gain mass and behave very differently than photons. This process was called “symmetry breaking” by physicists.
These particles became so heavy when they interacted with a field known as the Higgs field. The perturbations in this field gave rise to the Higgs boson and gave weight to the W and Z bosons.
The Higgs boson is formed in nature whenever such symmetry is broken. But the theory of the origin of the axial boson is more complicated.
According to Birch, the axial Higgs boson originated when a certain set of waves was simulated in quantum matter at room temperature. Scientists then used light scattering to observe this particle.
“At first, we just studied the light-scattering properties of this substance. But then we discovered anomalous changes that hinted at the existence of something new. And as a result, we discovered the axial Higgs boson, “says Birch. still agrees with modern elementary particle physics.
“This particle could potentially explain the existence of dark matter, but it requires a new theory that is consistent with existing particle experiments and that new particles can be seen. , which have not yet been discovered, “says Birch.
Scientists made the discovery a year ago, but have published data only now. All this time, researchers have been checking the results.
