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New particle identified at LHC LHC reports discovery of its first new particle
(40 minutes later)
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on the Franco-Swiss border has made its first clear observation of a new particle since opening in 2009.The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on the Franco-Swiss border has made its first clear observation of a new particle since opening in 2009.
Known as Chi-b 3P, it is a boson - the label given to particles that carry the forces of Nature. It is called Chi-b (3P) and will help scientists understand better the forces that hold matter together.
The discovery is reported on the Arxiv pre-print server. The as-yet unpublished discovery is reported on the Arxiv pre-print server.
The LHC is exploring some of the fundamental questions in Big Physics by colliding proton particles together in a huge underground facility. The LHC is exploring some of the fundamental questions in "big physics" by colliding proton particles together in a huge underground facility.
Detail in the sub-atomic wreckage from these impacts is expected to yield new information about the way matter is constructed. Detail in the sub-atomic wreckage from these impacts is expected to yield new information about the way the Universe is constructed.
The Chi-b 3P is a more excited state of Chi particles already seen in previous collision experiments, explained Prof Roger Jones, who works on the Atlas detector at the LHC. The Chi-b (3P) is a more excited state of Chi particles already seen in previous collision experiments, explained Prof Roger Jones, who works on the Atlas detector at the LHC.
"The new particle is made up of a 'beauty quark' and a 'beauty anti-quark', which are then bound together," he told BBC News."The new particle is made up of a 'beauty quark' and a 'beauty anti-quark', which are then bound together," he told BBC News.
"People have thought this more excited state should exist for years but nobody has managed to see it until now."People have thought this more excited state should exist for years but nobody has managed to see it until now.
"It's also interesting for what it tells us about the forces that hold the quark and the anti-quark together - the strong nuclear force. And that's the same force that holds, for instance, the atomic nucleus together with its protons and the neutrons.""It's also interesting for what it tells us about the forces that hold the quark and the anti-quark together - the strong nuclear force. And that's the same force that holds, for instance, the atomic nucleus together with its protons and the neutrons."
The LHC is designed to fill in gaps in the Standard Model - the current framework devised to explain the interactions of sub-atomic particles - and also to look for the new physics beyond. The LHC is designed to fill in gaps in the Standard Model - the current framework devised to explain the interactions of sub-atomic particles - and also to look for any new physics beyond it.
In particular, it is using the collisions to try to pin down the famous Higgs particle - another boson that physicists hypothesize can explain why matter has mass. In particular, it is using the collisions to try to pin down the famous Higgs particle, which physicists hypothesize can explain why matter has mass.
Discoveries such as Chi-b 3P are an important part of this quest because they add to the wider background knowledge, says Prof Jones. Discoveries such as Chi-b (3P) are an important part of this quest because they add to the wider background knowledge, says Prof Jones, from Lancaster University, UK.
"The better we understand the strong force, the more we understand a large part of the data that we see, which is quite often the background to the more exciting things we are looking for, like the Higgs."The better we understand the strong force, the more we understand a large part of the data that we see, which is quite often the background to the more exciting things we are looking for, like the Higgs.
"So, it's helping put together that basic understanding that we have and need to do the new physics.""So, it's helping put together that basic understanding that we have and need to do the new physics."