New experiment hints that a particle breaks the known laws of physics

[Jimmer]

Particle mystery deepens, as physicists confirm that the muon is more magnetic than predicted

Long-standing infinitesimal oddity could be a subtle sign of new particles

www.sciencemag.org

Good summary here:

Strange muon behaviour hints at mysterious new particles and forces

Particles called muons spin slightly faster than our best models of physics predict, which may mean that there are more particles and forces that we haven't yet discovered

www.newscientist.com

 

[Snacks]

Particle mystery deepens, as physicists confirm that the muon is more magnetic than predicted

Long-standing infinitesimal oddity could be a subtle sign of new particles

www.sciencemag.org

Good summary here:

Strange muon behaviour hints at mysterious new particles and forces

Particles called muons spin slightly faster than our best models of physics predict, which may mean that there are more particles and forces that we haven't yet discovered

www.newscientist.com

So what does this mean?

 

[Anubis]

So what does this mean?

Spoiler: This video sums it up well

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[Ras]

*breaks our understanding of the laws of physics not actually break the laws.

So what does this mean?

Don't study physics but here's my attempt at explaining it as simply as possible.

There's this measurement called the g-factor that tells us how strongly a charged particle's own magnetic field interacts with surrounding fields.

We can predict this number by counting up all the ways the particle could interact with other particles (Feynman diagrams).

If we then run an experiment, the number should be the same as the one we predicted.

This is the case for electrons but we found that there's a discrepancy with it's larger cousin - the muon.

This likely means that it's interacting with particles that we aren't aware of as it's a lot bigger - big news unless there's something wrong with the experiment.

We're getting closer to finding out whether it's an experimental error or whether they're particles not in our standard model.