Scientists at the US particle accelerator called Fermilab near Chicago say they may be getting promising signals to find a new force of nature. The BBC reported that scientists have discovered that muons, a type of subatomic particle, do not behave in accordance with our current understanding of subatomic physics. They therefore believe that muons may be acted upon by an unknown force.
The discovery could revolutionize physics but more data is needed to confirm the findings
All objects and particles in the universe interact with each other using four fundamental forces. They are gravity, electromagnetism, strong force and weak force. All forces in nature can be classified into these four categories.
But the findings at Fermilab have led scientists to believe that there is a fifth force in the universe. The research team reportedly built on results announced in 2021.
Dr Brendan Casey, a Fermilab scientist, was quoted as saying by the BBC “We are really exploring new territory. We are determining (measurements) with greater precision than has ever been seen before”.
The report says the researchers accelerated the muons around a 15-meter-diameter ring. Subatomic particles circulated at about 1000 times the speed of near light.
The scientists reportedly discovered that the muons did not behave according to a current theory called the Standard Model. And this, according to scientists, is happening thanks to a still unknown fifth force of nature. However, convincing evidence is needed to say this beyond doubt.
Scientists believe that they will obtain the required data within two years. They believe that the theoretical uncertainty would be narrower in this period.
A competing team at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) hopes to be the first to find conclusive evidence.
The BBC quoted Dr. Mitesh Patel, who is among the thousands of physicists at the LHC trying to find flaws in the Standard Model.
“Measuring behavior that disagrees with the predictions of the Standard Model is the holy grail of particle physics. In our understanding, this would detonate the trigger gun because the model has withstood all experimental tests for more than 50 years,” he added. he said.
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