Physicists studied the results of the Tevatron collider for 10 years and came to the conclusion that the experimental
What happened?
The W-boso is the fundamental particle that carries the weak nuclear force. It turned out to be much heavier than according to the Standard Model of physics.
A difference of 0.09% was found between theoretical and experimental data. It seems that this is small, but this error is much larger than the standard one - 0.01%.
This is incredibly important information for all physicists.world, says Florencia Canelli, a physicist at the University of Zurich. If the data obtained is confirmed in other experiments, then the first serious discrepancy with the Standard Model of physics will turn out - this is a theory that describes all the particles that make up matter, and all fundamental interactions, except for gravity.
Yes, the Standard Model does not work for everyoneprocesses. Therefore, if at least one serious inconsistency appears, then the model will have to be changed. But there are physicists who are cautious about the results of the experiment.
Generation of W-boson mass measurements based onexperimental data is a very complex process, I would carefully interpret the existing discrepancy with the Standard Model, says Matthias Schott, a physicist at Johannes Gutenberg University. He believes that physicists need to understand as precisely as possible why such discrepancies occurred.
What do we know about the W-boson?
The particle was discovered in 1983. Experiments at the time calculated that the W boson weighed 85 protons. The error of this value was 5% or more, since it was difficult to calculate the mass.
Z-boson and W-boson are involved in most of thenuclear reactions, in particular, in thermonuclear fusion, which occurs on the Sun. The W and Z bosons carry the weak nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature. The W-boson is studied in colliders, where particles are produced and then pushed together at high energy. Particles can be fixed during their decay into a subspecies of electrons, or into muons and neutrinos. The neutrino disappears without a trace, but the electron and muon can be traced.
During the process of decay, most of the originalThe mass of the W boson is converted into the energy of new particles. If physicists can measure this energy and also determine how the particles decay, they will be able to determine the mass of the W boson. But if the actions of neutrinos cannot be tracked, then it is impossible to say exactly what part of the energy of an electron or muon is associated with mass and what part is associated with momentum.
What did the authors of the new work do?
In an article published in the journal Science,The researchers report almost a decade of analysis of data collected using the Tevatron particle accelerator. These measurements, according to the authors, are more accurate than all the others combined. The authors calculated that the mass of the W-boson is approximately 157 thousand times greater than the mass of the electron. Thanks to the new measurement, the relevance of the Standard Model of physics can be tested.
What is new physics?
This is the name given to physical laws thatgo beyond the Standard Model. And the new work is not the first hint of such physics. A similar situation occurred with the experiment in 2021 with muon-g2. But the accuracy of that work was significantly lower than the new results.
The W boson's mass was higher than expected by as much as seven standard deviations, which means that the probability that this is an accident is about one in a trillion.
"This dimension is the most significantdeviation from the fundamental prediction of the Standard Model, it is more than scientists have ever recorded. So I think it's a hint that we don't yet fully understand the weak nuclear force, or all the particles that experience that force," said Ashutosh Kotwal, a professor at Duke University.
What will the new discovery change in physics?
The consequences of this discovery are yet to cometo understand completely. One could simply adjust the Standard Model to fit the new measurements. But the authors of the work believe that they are witnesses to the beginning of a paradigm shift and the emergence of previously unknown physics.
The first important step along the way is gettingindependent confirmation. Now the 400 scientists who worked on the experiment are getting together with other physicists to analyze the result in order to understand where to go next. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is collecting data on the W-boson and could be used for new experiments.
“If we build a new electron-positroncollider, it will also be able to very accurately measure the mass of the W-boson. In addition, the Large Hadron Collider and smaller specialized experiments measure new particles and their interactions with high precision. If there is a new physics, then it will be possible to observe it in these experiments,” Professor Kotwal explained.
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