Back in April , Fermilab physicists detected a unknown bump in their data that could n’t be explained by any bed atom . The mystery remains unresolved , and it ’s looking more and more likely that we ’re on the verge of a major discovery .
We covered the initial announcementshereandhere , which pop the question more extensive background on the initial discovery . Very essentially , the initial breakthrough was made during background signal analysis of the production of gauge boson brace , which are primary force - carrying particle . ( If you need a refresher course on the elementary mote , match outour field usher . )
https://gizmodo.com/fermilab-physicists-about-to-announce-the-discovery-of-5789567
https://kotaku.com/has-fermilab-really-discovered-an-entirely-new-subatomi-5789759
https://gizmodo.com/the-ultimate-field-guide-to-subatomic-particles-5639192
This was all somewhat routine stuff , which made the discovery of an unexpected energy bump in the datum even more surprising . This bump could have been one of two thing : some sort of error , or the signature tune of a antecedently undiscovered particle . The possibility that this protuberance was all just an error ca n’t be discounted lightly – after all , it does n’t necessitate us to evoke any new particles , which is always preferred in the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary .
Just how compelling does the evidence need to be ? physicist generally set the blue limit for a new uncovering at what ’s have a go at it as a 5 - sigma event – something that has a 99.99994 % chance of being real . The initial vim bump was little more than a 3 - sigma event , which carry with it a 99.73002 % chance of being correct . To be certain , that only leaves about a .27 % luck that the consequence was an computer error , but if you give physicist a alternative between a .27 % chance and rewriting physics … well , they ’re go bad to take the .27 % chance every meter .
But now the Fermilab physicists have had a chance to add even more data , and the bump has n’t conk out aside . In fact , the evidence for it has crept up to as much as 4.8 - sigma , just little of the gold criterion to be look at a discovery . And because Fermilab ’s CDF quislingism has been working for so long , it ’s improbable that any obvious errors have been made . A very subtle systematic faulting is still a possible action , but overall it ’s looking good that this really is a signaling .
So just what is this new particle , assuming that ’s actually what it is ? We know it ’s not the elusive Higgs boson , because its signature does n’t even remotely match what the Higgs would do at that zip grade . The current just guess is that it ’s some variety of novel bore boson , or perhaps a yoke made up of the well - empathise W boson and some other mysterious partner .
Still , the CDF squad wo n’t be able to reassert this subatomic particle ’s beingness on their own – they ’ll need supporting grounds from Fermilab ’s other collaboration , DZero . However , the Word of God is that DZero has n’t found the signature yet , which would angle things back towards this bump front like some sorting of artifact or trace in the data . Either way , the Large Hadron Collider will also need to count for the particle , and it might prove the deciding vote if CDF and DZero ’s data ca n’t harmonise .
Still , physicist Joanne Hewett of Stanford ’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory stay on affirmative :
“ It ’s very , very unlikely that this is just an artifact . We expect new discoveries . This is going to be the most exciting summer particle physics has had since 1974 . ”
1974 , for those who have n’t learn the dates of every particle ’ uncovering , was the year physicists present the existence of thecharm quark cheese , which helped jump start a series of crucial breakthroughs in our understanding of particle natural philosophy .
ViaDiscovery News . Imagevia .
fermilabHiggs bosonParticle physicsPhysicsScience
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