Scientists Probe Zeptoverse at Unprecedented Subatomic Scale
(MENAFN) Scientists have detected particle interactions at an unprecedented scale, reaching a realm approximately 100 billion times smaller than an atom, which some physicists refer to as the zeptoverse.
The findings emerged from an experiment conducted at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by a research team led by scientists based in Cambridge.
Located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on the Swiss-French border, the enormous accelerator collides particles at extremely high energies, allowing researchers to investigate the fundamental components of matter.
The latest results could help scientists move closer to developing a more comprehensive explanation of how the universe operates, particularly by providing new ways to investigate dark matter.
Although dark matter has never been directly observed, its existence is inferred from its gravitational influence on ordinary matter. Beyond that effect, its nature and properties remain largely unknown.
To investigate the possibility of interactions involving dark matter, researchers examined the particles produced when high-energy collisions generated fragments of matter. Their analysis focused on a subatomic particle known as the beauty quark.
Beauty quarks are highly unstable and survive for only around one and a half trillionths of a second before decaying into other particles. Despite this extremely brief lifetime, scientists were able to observe their interactions with other particles at distances measured in billion-trillionths of a meter.
Certain theoretical models suggest that particles behaving at these exceptionally small scales could be particularly sensitive to dark matter. If dark matter influences the way quarks interact or decay, studying these processes could provide clues to its existence.
The research therefore offers scientists an opportunity to examine particle behavior that may reveal evidence of previously unknown physical phenomena.
"We're knocking on the door of this zeptoverse," Dr Harry Cliff, of Cambridge University who led the analysis of the data, said.
He explained that studying these subatomic interactions gives researchers a close view of how potential new particles might behave, potentially opening another route toward understanding the universe's hidden components.
The findings emerged from an experiment conducted at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by a research team led by scientists based in Cambridge.
Located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on the Swiss-French border, the enormous accelerator collides particles at extremely high energies, allowing researchers to investigate the fundamental components of matter.
The latest results could help scientists move closer to developing a more comprehensive explanation of how the universe operates, particularly by providing new ways to investigate dark matter.
Although dark matter has never been directly observed, its existence is inferred from its gravitational influence on ordinary matter. Beyond that effect, its nature and properties remain largely unknown.
To investigate the possibility of interactions involving dark matter, researchers examined the particles produced when high-energy collisions generated fragments of matter. Their analysis focused on a subatomic particle known as the beauty quark.
Beauty quarks are highly unstable and survive for only around one and a half trillionths of a second before decaying into other particles. Despite this extremely brief lifetime, scientists were able to observe their interactions with other particles at distances measured in billion-trillionths of a meter.
Certain theoretical models suggest that particles behaving at these exceptionally small scales could be particularly sensitive to dark matter. If dark matter influences the way quarks interact or decay, studying these processes could provide clues to its existence.
The research therefore offers scientists an opportunity to examine particle behavior that may reveal evidence of previously unknown physical phenomena.
"We're knocking on the door of this zeptoverse," Dr Harry Cliff, of Cambridge University who led the analysis of the data, said.
He explained that studying these subatomic interactions gives researchers a close view of how potential new particles might behave, potentially opening another route toward understanding the universe's hidden components.
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