Scientists discover an unknown particle that may be dark matter – Scientific Exploration – cnBeta.COM

Scientists have discovered a new, mysterious particle. Of course, making new discoveries is exciting. But perhaps the most exciting thing about this particle is that it could be a candidate for dark matter. Incredibly, this never-before-seen particle was discovered through an experiment small enough to sit on a kitchen counter.

This mysterious particle may be a candidate for dark matter

“When my student showed me this data, I thought she must be wrong,” Boston College professor and principal investigator Kenneth Burch told Live Science, “It’s not every day you find a new particle sitting on your desk. “

This mysterious particle is a cousin of the Higgs boson particle, which is responsible for giving mass to other particles. The scientists named the new particle the axial Higgs boson. Researchers first detected the Higgs boson particle in 2012 using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Unlike the Higgs boson particle, which requires LC to discover, the axial Higgs boson was discovered through a small experiment. In fact, the experiment was small enough to fit on a small kitchen countertop.

Part of what makes the axial Higgs boson different from the Higgs boson is its magnetic moment. This is essentially the ability to generate a magnetic field due to the strength or direction of the magnetism.

Moreover, unlike the Higgs boson, this new, mysterious particle is created when the quantum material mimics a very specific set of oscillations at room temperature. The researchers were then able to use the scattering of light to observe the particle.

The researchers published a paper on their findings in Nature. Some of these findings include that the axial Higgs boson is characterized by the collective behavior of electrons, unlike anything we’ve ever seen in nature.

The mystery of dark matter

Undoubtedly, discovering a new particle is an exciting thing. But the most intriguing thing about this mysterious particle is that scientists think it could be a candidate for dark matter. Dark matter has been one of the longest-standing mysteries about our universe and everything in it. Scientists believe that dark matter accounts for 85% of the total mass of the universe.

Yet since we only observe dark matter using gravity, we know very little about this mysterious element. Previously, physicists had predicted that an axial Higgs mode could explain dark matter. But this is the first time we humans have observed this. This makes the discovery even more intriguing.

Of course, proving and explaining dark matter with this mysterious particle is not easy. Physicists point out that to fully explain it, we need a theory that is consistent with existing particle experiments. But the theory also needs to be consistent with explaining the creation of new particles not yet seen.