Researchers are attempting to determine whether a peculiar new particle known as a "ghost particle" has been discovered at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of CERN in Switzerland.
The group claimed to have observed a signal that might
represent a particle with twice the mass of a carbon atom using the Compact
Muon Solenoid (CMS) instrument on the particle accelerator. If the particle
exists, though, it might create some controversy because it defies accepted
theories.
The CMS team theorist Alexandre Nikitenko, who worked on the
data, told The Guardian, "I'd say theorists are excited and
experimentalists are very sceptical." "I have to be very critical in
my role as a physicist, but I also have to be optimistic in my role as this
analysis's author."
At CERN, the team was scheduled to present their findings in
a meeting. These results point to a muon—a heavy electron—accumulating inside
the CMS detector. This would translate into a particle with a mass of 28 GeV,
or roughly 25% of the 125 GeV mass of the Higgs boson.
The existence of this particle may not be known for another
year, but even if it is, Science Alert points out that it would not exactly
defy the laws of physics. They remarked, "But it's odd—a mass formed where
no mass was predicted."
We've heard about other particle news this year besides this
one. The discovery of neutrinos from an active galaxy 4 billion light-years
away was announced by astronomers in July, so this isn't even the only
"ghost particle" news we've heard. It's definitely a slightly
di
fferent discovery.
The announcement from September of this year that scientists
had "broken the Standard Model" by detecting ultra-high energy cosmic
neutrinos with the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) may have been
more significant.
The strangely named "skyrimon," a particle with
ball lightning-like properties, made headlines in March. Moreover, findings
from CERN in September suggested the existence of a particle that appeared to
defy the Standard Model.
Can this most recent finding withstand close examination?
Time will tell. But physics is undoubtedly experiencing an exciting moment right
now.