The standard model of physics can’t accommodate some observed phenomena, notes Popular Mechanics. Yet “In a new study, scientists say they can explain dark matter by positing a particle that links to a fifth dimension.” While the “warped extra dimension” (WED) is a trademark of a popular physics model first introduced in 1999, this research, published in The European Physical Journal…
Tag: standard model
A new look at the universe’s oldest light
New work agrees with older research suggesting the oldest light in the universe – from the most distant galaxy yet known – started its journey toward us 13.77 billion years ago. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/a-new-look-at-the-universes-oldest-light…
Researchers set new bounds on the mass of leptoquarks
At the most fundamental level, matter is made up of two types of particles: leptons, such as the electron, and quarks, which combine to form protons, neutrons and other composite particles. Under the Standard Model of particle physics, both leptons and quarks fall into three generations of increasing mass. Otherwise, the two kinds of particles are distinct. But some theories that…
Search for invisible axion dark matter with a multiple-cell cavity
Despite its vanishingly tiny mass, the existence of the axion, once proven, may point to new physics beyond the Standard Model. Theorized to explain a fundamental symmetry problem in the strong nuclear force associated with the matter-antimatter imbalance in our universe, this hypothetical particle also makes an attractive dark matter candidate. Though axions would exist in vast enough numbers to be…
Searching for sub-eV sterile neutrinos using two highly sensitive detectors
The standard model of particle physics only accounts for 20% of matter in the universe. Physicists have theorized that the remaining 80% is made up by so-called dark matter, which consists of particles that do not emit, absorb or reflect light and thus cannot be directly observed using any existing instruments. …
Scientists work to shed light on Standard Model of particle physics
As scientists await the highly anticipated initial results of the Muon g-2 experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, collaborating scientists from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory continue to employ and maintain the unique system that maps the magnetic field in the experiment with unprecedented precision. …
One theory beyond the standard model could allow wormholes that you could actually fly through
Wormholes are a popular feature in science fiction, the means through which spacecraft can achieve faster-than-light (FTL) travel and instantaneously move from one point in spacetime to another. And while the General Theory of Relativity forbids the existence of “traversable wormholes,” recent research has shown that they are actually possible within the domain of quantum physics. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-theory-standard-wormholes.html…
New view of old light adds twist to debate over universe’s age
Observations of the cosmic microwave background by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in Chile suggest that the universe is 13.8 billion years old. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-view-old-light-twist-debate-universes-age…
ATLAS experiment finds evidence of spectacular four-top quark production
The ATLAS Collaboration at CERN has announced strong evidence of the production of four top quarks. This rare Standard Model process is expected to occur only once for every 70 thousand pairs of top quarks created at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and has proven extremely difficult to measure. …
Why neutrinos are the strangest particles in the Standard Model
We still don’t know what the mass of a neutrino is, which means there is still lots of exciting work to do, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24632870-700-why-neutrinos-are-the-strangest-particles-in-the-standard-model/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…