Physicists say they found evidence of an elusive particle – axion
US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — These results may have just opened the door to a new era in physics.
An international group of physicists claims they were able to find evidence of a subatomic particle called axion.
Axion was first theoretically proposed in the 1970s to explain discrepancies in particle physics. They have also become a popular way to explain the existence of dark matter, a foggy substance that makes up 85 percent of the mass of the universe. But scientists have never found direct evidence of them before – perhaps now.
As part of the XENON1T Dark Matter experiment , researchers installed two tons of ultra-pure liquefied xenon in a vat under an Italian mountain. Xenon is a very stable noble gas whose inertness makes it an ideal candidate for detecting the presence of any particles that pass through it.
The team announced that they discovered a “surprising excess of events” of particles interacting with xenon particles – events that scientists could not explain using a standard physics model.
Scientists suggest that there are three explanations for this excess. One of them is pollution in the tank. It can also be caused by a neutrino, a well-known particle.
The third explanation is much bolder and can have serious consequences in the world of physics. Interactions can be the result of axion actions – potentially the first observation of an elusive particle.
Although axions are not currently the proposed direct explanation for the existence of dark matter, they could set the stage for the creation of dark matter in the early stages of our universe.
Scientists are undoubtedly excited about this possibility, although they also call for restraint because of other possible explanations.
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