So… What’s all this about then..?

Something truly new or something we sorta knew about already?

————————————

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) found data that could point to an entirely new force of nature, which would mean a whole new area of physics.© Mina De La O Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) found data that could point to an entirely new force of nature, which would mean a whole new area of physics. Intriguing new results at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) point to a new force of nature that scientists don’t understand. The anomaly is seen in B mesons, which are paired quarks. They disintegrate into muons and electrons at an uneven rate, puzzling experts. Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have recorded some highly unusual data that could point to an entirely new force of nature, which would mean a whole new area of physics. The secret lies in an elusive, unstable particle called a B meson, which isn’t biodegrading according to plan.

➡ You think science is bad***. So do we. Let’s nerd out together.
The scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) call B mesons“tantalizing tensions,” since the particles break apart into different amounts of electrons and muons than the standard model of physics predicts they should.

B mesons are paired quarks that move together and rapidly decay. While scientists have noticed several previous anomalies in B mesons, this latest observation in decay mode is an even bigger deal. As the B mesons decay in the LHC, there are more electrons and fewer muons than there should be.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC).© Lionel FLUSIN – Getty Images The Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

During particle runs at LHC as part of the LHCb experimental team, the physicists scrutinized the rarest occurring B meson decays. B mesons decay in a variety of ways, and the ones observed here are some of the most unusual.

The Guardian reports the likelihood of CERN’s results being a fluke are just one in 1,000, but that isn’t a small enough chance for the standards of physics observation—scientists prefer to reduce the chance of a fluke to one in over 1 million.

The B meson, short for beauty meson, is one of the major focuses of study by the LHCb experimental team. This major LHC project studies all the beauty quarks, of which B mesons are just one example. CERN explains:

“The measurement made by the LHCb collaboration compares two types of decays of beauty quarks. The electron and the muon, together with a third particle called the tau, are types of leptons and the difference between them is referred to as‘flavours’. The Standard Model of particle physics predicts that decays involving different flavours of leptons, such as the one in the LHCb study, should occur with the same probability.”

This is where the difference emerged: the flavors aren’t occurring with the same probability. What could account for the discrepancy? Scientists aren’t sure, but if it really is legitimate, it means we’ll need a new specific flavor of physics to go with the mismatched lepton flavors found in the experiment. The lack of a clear explanation is exactly why this news is so exciting.

CERN says the LHCb experimental team is well positioned to continue to explore this unpredictable difference. They’ll upgrade the team’s detector next year and start running new versions of the experiment. With more results that show the same anomaly, the team will be able to confirm or deny the existence of a new kind of physics to match.

monkey skipper said:

So… What’s all this about then..?

Something truly new or something we sorta knew about already?

————————————

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) found data that could point to an entirely new force of nature, which would mean a whole new area of physics.© Mina De La O Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) found data that could point to an entirely new force of nature, which would mean a whole new area of physics. Intriguing new results at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) point to a new force of nature that scientists don’t understand. The anomaly is seen in B mesons, which are paired quarks. They disintegrate into muons and electrons at an uneven rate, puzzling experts. Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have recorded some highly unusual data that could point to an entirely new force of nature, which would mean a whole new area of physics. The secret lies in an elusive, unstable particle called a B meson, which isn’t biodegrading according to plan.

➡ You think science is bad***. So do we. Let’s nerd out together.
The scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) call B mesons“tantalizing tensions,” since the particles break apart into different amounts of electrons and muons than the standard model of physics predicts they should.

B mesons are paired quarks that move together and rapidly decay. While scientists have noticed several previous anomalies in B mesons, this latest observation in decay mode is an even bigger deal. As the B mesons decay in the LHC, there are more electrons and fewer muons than there should be.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC).© Lionel FLUSIN – Getty Images The Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

During particle runs at LHC as part of the LHCb experimental team, the physicists scrutinized the rarest occurring B meson decays. B mesons decay in a variety of ways, and the ones observed here are some of the most unusual.

The Guardian reports the likelihood of CERN’s results being a fluke are just one in 1,000, but that isn’t a small enough chance for the standards of physics observation—scientists prefer to reduce the chance of a fluke to one in over 1 million.

The B meson, short for beauty meson, is one of the major focuses of study by the LHCb experimental team. This major LHC project studies all the beauty quarks, of which B mesons are just one example. CERN explains:

“The measurement made by the LHCb collaboration compares two types of decays of beauty quarks. The electron and the muon, together with a third particle called the tau, are types of leptons and the difference between them is referred to as‘flavours’. The Standard Model of particle physics predicts that decays involving different flavours of leptons, such as the one in the LHCb study, should occur with the same probability.”

This is where the difference emerged: the flavors aren’t occurring with the same probability. What could account for the discrepancy? Scientists aren’t sure, but if it really is legitimate, it means we’ll need a new specific flavor of physics to go with the mismatched lepton flavors found in the experiment. The lack of a clear explanation is exactly why this news is so exciting.

CERN says the LHCb experimental team is well positioned to continue to explore this unpredictable difference. They’ll upgrade the team’s detector next year and start running new versions of the experiment. With more results that show the same anomaly, the team will be able to confirm or deny the existence of a new kind of physics to match.

> Something truly new or something we sorta knew about already?

I froze, reading this, when they said “The anomaly is seen in B mesons”.

An anomaly in B mesons is the best way to break the standard model of physics.

A bit of background. The asymmetry between particles and antiparticles first showed up in Kaons, and has been known since the 1970s.
This was instrumental in the development of what is now the standard model.

This asymmetry between particles and antiparticles also shows up in B mesons. The standard model, developed using Kaons, should also apply to B mesons. But it’s far from impossible that B mesons will throw up something new, something in addition to the weirdness from Kaons.

So particle physicists have been looking at B mesons ever since they were discovered. But B mesons are heavy, so can only be produced in small numbers. The asymmetry in B mesons that was predicted from Kaons first showed up in the year 2001. The main purpose of the LHCb experiment (approved circa 1999) is to produce B mesons (and other particles containing bottom quarks) in large enough numbers to see if something new appears.

And from this paper it looks as if LHCb has finally generated enough B mesons to detect an anomaly.

1 in a thousand is 4 sigma.
1 in a million is 5 sigma.
The gold standard (eg. Higgs particle) is 7 sigma.
I laugh at claims made with anything less than 3 sigma

So this seems highly plausible.

mollwollfumble said:

1 in a thousand is 4 sigma.
1 in a million is 5 sigma.
The gold standard (eg. Higgs particle) is 7 sigma.
I laugh at claims made with anything less than 3 sigma

So this seems highly plausible.

Err, 1 in a thousand is a lot closer to 3 sigma at 3.3.
4 Sigma is well over 10k.

we’ll be satisfied with a good solution to the 2 sigma problem for now, and go from there thanks

sibeen said:

mollwollfumble said:

1 in a thousand is 4 sigma.
1 in a million is 5 sigma.
The gold standard (eg. Higgs particle) is 7 sigma.
I laugh at claims made with anything less than 3 sigma

So this seems highly plausible.

Err, 1 in a thousand is a lot closer to 3 sigma at 3.3.
4 Sigma is well over 10k.

Oops, thanks. Still comes in as “highly plausible”.