LHC discovers new pentaquark particle
It’s a particle so elusive that even the world’s largest physics experiment could only discover it by accident. The pentaquark has at last been found.
When the team at the LHCb experiment detected what looked like the signature of a pentaquark, they were determined to take their time with the analysis. Now they are pretty certain they have it.
The pentaquark was observed by studying the decay of particles called Lambda b baryons, which normally occurs in one smooth step. However, the physics of the strong force, which governs the way quarks behave, means there are sometimes intermediate states along the way. During one such not so smooth decay, an elusive five-quark particle popped up with a signature that tallied with that of the theorised pentaquark.
Paper:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1507.03414
Articles:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33517492
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27892-pentaquark-discovery-at-lhc-shows-long-sought-new-form-of-matter/
#physics #pentaquark #research #LHC
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