Rare Particle Decay Discovery at CERN Support Theory on Origins of the Universe

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire), known worldwide by its French acronym, CERN, has unveiled key experimental findings recently. They have revealed the results of an important experiment that has very important implications on the origins of the universe. It took 25 years for scientists to finally attain experimental proof that one rare subatomic particle decays into another. It was predicted that B sub s meson can decay into muons albeit very rarely.

This recently proven rare subatomic event supports the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The results were revealed at a major physics conference that was held in Stockholm in Sweden.

Rare event documented

New data from the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN showed actual measurements of the decay time of B sub s meson into two fundamental subatomic particles called muons. Muons are similar to electrons, though the latter are much heavier. These findings help explain how galaxies and microcosms are formed and how they continue to function as they do. This rare decay has been the subject of particle research for a very long time. Joe Incandela, one of the leaders of the CERN team involved in the study said that the particle is a thousand times smaller than the heaviest particles they are currently studying.

The Large Hadron Collider

The LHC is a ten billion dollar facility located at the borders of Switzerland and France near Geneva. The LHC is the biggest atom smasher in the world and this recent experiment was successful in showing the existence of “one of the rarest measurable processes in physics.” A component of the LHC called the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is one of the two experiments instrumental in capturing the subatomic event and the other component is the LHCb. The CMS played a key role in the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012.

Confirmation of the standard model

Pierluigi Campana, one of the research leaders involved in the project said that this milestone in the world of physics “describes only 5% of the universe.” This important development is a confirmation of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, which has been in development for more than 50 years. The theory endeavors to explain the building blocks of matter.

The results showed that only very few Bs particles per billion decays into muon pairs. The standard model of physics predicted this many years ago. The confirmation may be a milestone for the standard model, but many scientists are rather disappointed that there were no new findings nor anything surprising or unexpected.

Photo Credit: The expanding Universe