Very rare particle decay reinforces standard model – publico

                 

                         
                     

                 

 
                         

The European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, has advanced results that support the standard model of particle physics, currently the best theoretical description of all particles and interactions between them. In large particle accelerator at CERN, the researchers first observed the disintegration, extremely rare, of a particle:. The neutral meson B to give rise to two muons, “cousins” heavier of electrons

                     

                         The mesons are unstable particles composed of two types of elementary particles – a quark and an antiquark. The standard model of particle physics predicts the disintegration of neutral B meson into two muons, says the AFP news agency. But it is expected that only about four neutral B mesons, among billion particle collisions, disintegrate into muon pairs. Observe first such decay, as you call them physical, it took more than 30 years since its existence was predicted in the standard model.

These results, the researchers confirm the standard model , developed in the 1970s and that predicts the behavior of fundamental particles. The discovery, published Thursday in the magazine’s paper edition Nature , results from experiments at the LHC particle accelerator in 2011 and 2012. Installed in Geneva, the LHC is a machine where particle beams ( protons) traveling in opposite directions at high energy, almost the speed of light and collide with each other. These collisions result new particles registered by huge detectors along the accelerator, which allow scientists to deepen knowledge on the subject at a very small scale.

“This is a testament to the excellent performance of the LHC and sensitivity our experiences. Finally, we observe this extremely rare but important decay, “he said in a statement from CERN, Guy Wilkinson, team spokesman connected to one of the LHC’s detectors (LHCb), which was involved in the discovery announced now. “The search for new particles and the study of rare decays are complementary strategies for the emergence of a new physics [beyond the standard model],” added Tiziano Camporesi, spokesman for the team of another detector (CMS), whose data also contributed to the discovery.

The LHC had allowed detected in 2012, the very famous Higgs boson, sought for nearly 50 years and is considered a key piece in understanding the matter as soon as all that in the universe, including ourselves. In the standard model, the Higgs boson is the particle that gives mass to other particles.

The large particle accelerator, which was stopped in the last two years for maintenance and renewal and resumed operations in early May, can help unravel other mysteries of the universe. For example, why the universe after the Big Bang that started with the same amount of particles of matter and antimatter, now consists mostly of matter and antimatter hardly left? Another mystery is the existence of dark matter and energy, which together comprise about 95% of the constituents of the universe, and are not explained by the standard model.