Scientists have discovered a new and mysterious particle. Of course, making new discoveries is exciting. But perhaps the most exciting thing about this particle is that it may be a candidate for dark matter. Incredibly, this never seen particle was discovered through an experiment that was so small that it could be placed on a kitchen counter.
This mysterious particle may be a candidate for dark matter
"When my students showed me these data, I thought she must be wrong," Kenneth Burch, a professor and principal researcher at Boston College, told live science. "You don't find a new particle sitting on your desktop every day."
This mysterious particle is a cousin of the Higgs boson, which is responsible for giving other particles mass. Scientists named the new particle the axial Higgs boson. In 2012, researchers used the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to detect the Higgs boson particle for the first time.
Unlike the Higgs boson, which requires LC to be discovered, the axial Higgs boson is discovered through a small experiment. In fact, the experiment is so small that it can be placed on the countertop of a small kitchen.
The axial Higgs boson differs from the Higgs boson in part because of its magnetic moment. This is essentially the ability to generate a magnetic field due to magnetic strength or direction.
In addition, unlike the Higgs boson, this new and mysterious particle is generated when quantum materials imitate a very specific set of oscillations at room temperature. Researchers can then use light scattering 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, which is different from any state we have ever seen in nature.
The mystery of dark matter
There is no doubt that the discovery of a new particle is exciting. But the most fascinating thing about this mysterious particle is that scientists think it may be a candidate for dark matter. Dark matter has always been one of the most enduring mysteries about our universe and everything in it. Scientists believe that dark matter accounts for 85% of the total mass of the universe.
However, since we only observe dark matter by using gravity, we know little about this mysterious element. Previously, physicists had predicted that an axial Higgs model could explain dark matter. But this is the first time that we humans have observed this situation. This makes the discovery even more fascinating.
Of course, it is not easy to prove and explain dark matter with this mysterious particle. Physicists pointed out that in order to fully explain it, we need a theory consistent with existing particle experiments. But the theory also needs to be consistent with explaining the generation of new particles that have not yet been seen.