Today in TechLarge Hadron Collider discovers its first new particle, but it’s no Higgs boson
It might not be the legendary Higgs boson, but scientists at the world's largest particle accelerator have just discovered something else very interesting indeed. While on the hunt for the still-elusive so-called "god particle" that would tie up some theoretical loose ends in the physics world, a particle known as Chi_b (3P) popped up in the Large Hadron Collider's ATLAS particle detector. The Chi_b (3P) is a variant on the Chi subatomic particle, one that exists in a "more excited state" that's been theorized in physics for years.
According to Roger Jones, a researcher who works closely with the ATLAS detector, the Chi_b (3P) is a helpful find "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." Beyond its specific implications, CHi_b (3P)'s discovery proves that the LHC is capable of pinning down phenomena that had previously existed solely in theory.
The Large Hadron Collider and its six particle detectors have been at work hunting down missing pieces in the Standard Model of physics, a sweeping theory that explains a number of experimental quirks in the core set of particles and forces found in nature. Still, CERN's hunt continues for the Higg's boson, the only elementary particle provisioned for in the Standard Model that has yet to be experimentally observed.
[Image credit: Nikolai Schwerg]
This article originally appeared on Tecca
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