Oct 1, 2024
First Observation of One-in-10-Billion Particle Decay Hints at Hidden Physics
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: particle physics
Physicists have detected a long-sought particle process that may suggest new forces and particles exist in the universe.
Once in a very great while, an ephemeral particle called a kaon arises and then quickly decays away into three other obscure entities. Whether or not this happens in a particular way has very little bearing on most of us, who will go about our lives without knowing either way. But to physicists who have been searching for this arcane process for decades, it matters a lot; finding out how often it happens could reveal hidden aspects of our universe.