Breakthrough at CERN: Researchers discover rare antimatter particle
At CERN in Geneva, researchers have achieved an exciting breakthrough: They found evidence of a rare antimatter particle for the first time. This discovery could help us unlock the mysteries of the early universe.
Antimatter discovery at CERN: Physics world electrified
The newly discovered particle is called antihyperhelium-4. It is an example of a so-called hypernucleus – a special form of an atomic nucleus made entirely of antimatter. In the case of antihyperhelium-4, the nucleus is composed of antiprotons, antineutrons and an unstable anti-hyperon. This makes antihyperhelium-4 one of the most exotic particles discovered to date.
The scientists used the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest particle accelerator, to research the rare particle. They caused lead atoms to collide with each other at almost the speed of light. These collisions create extreme conditions comparable to the physical conditions in the universe shortly after the Big Bang. These collisions create a so-called quark-gluon plasma, a hot and dense state of matter that could have filled the early universe around a millionth of a second after the Big Bang.
The ALICE experiment researchers at CERN used advanced computer programs to find the tiny traces of antihyperhelium-4 in the vast amounts of data. This discovery closely follows the observation of antihyperhydrogen-4 reported earlier this year by the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The current discovery was made with a statistical certainty of 3.5 standard deviations – a strong indication, although not yet definitive proof. This contains more information Preprint publication.
Why are we here?
This research helps deepen our knowledge of how matter is formed. It shows that it is possible to create conditions similar to those of the early universe in the laboratory. With future experiments and even larger data sets, we hope to unlock further secrets of particle physics. Ultimately, the aim is to gain a better understanding of why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe today.
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