Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: One was killed, another injured in a raid by an Israeli drone on the city of Khiam in South Lebanon
London views possibility of setting fire to tanker in port of friendly country to Russia to damage port infrastructure, initiate an international probe: Moscow
One of London's scenarios involves setting up accident with 'undesirable' tanker in one of the bottlenecks of maritime communications: Russian foreign intelligence agency
London plans to organize major sabotage with tankers to declare transportation of Russian oil to international shipping: Russian foreign intelligence agency
UK intelligence agencies plan to use NATO allies to launch massive raid on 'Shadow Fleet': Russian foreign intelligence agency
Palestinian Ministry of Health: Two were martyred in Israeli shelling that targeted a besieged house in the town of Qabatiya in Jenin
At least 68 dead in migrant shipwreck off Yemen: IOM
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.

Subatomic particle wobbling could pave way for fifth force of nature

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 11 Aug 2023 19:11
3 Min Read

According to researchers, a surprising wobbling of a subatomic particle may actually boost the tantalizing theory of a fifth force of nature.

  • x
  • Scientists on verge of discovering fifth natural source
    Muon g-2 magnetic storage ring in the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois (AP)

Present understanding states that there are 4 forces of nature. Three of those - the electromagnetic force and the strong and weak nuclear forces - are explained by the standard model of particle physics.

However, this model does not apply to the fourth known fundamental force, gravity, or dark matter, a bizarre and unexplained element predicted to account for around 27% of the universe.

Researchers now believe there may be a fifth basic force of nature.

Dr. Mitesh Patel, from Imperial College London, said, “We’re talking about a fifth force because we can’t necessarily explain the behavior [in these experiments] with the four we know about.”

The Fermilab particle accelerator facility in the United States investigated how usually subatomic particles known as muons — identical to electrons but 200 times heavier – travel in a magnetic field.

Patel claims that muons usually rotate along the magnetic field's axis while they simultaneously wobble. The expected model can forecast the frequency of the wobble.

However, the Fermilab experimental data do not appear to fit those expectations.

Professor Jon Butterworth of University College London, who works on the Atlas experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, believes the wobbles are caused by an interaction of the muon with the magnetic field.

He states that "they can be calculated very precisely in the standard model but that calculation involves quantum loops, with known particles appearing in those loops."

Related News

Hate those birds singing in the morning? They may be good for you

Extreme weather devastates UK wildlife in 2022: National Trust

“If the measurements don’t line up with the prediction, that could be a sign that there is some unknown particle appearing in the loops – which could, for example, be the carrier of a fifth force.”

'Fly in the ointment'

Previous Fermilab studies demonstrated similar findings.

According to Patel, however, there seemed to be a “fly in the ointment," explaining that between new and old data, uncertainty increased around the theoretical prediction of the frequency.

Patel stated that “maybe what they are seeing is standard scientific thinking – the so-called standard model."

However, Butterworth believes that "if the discrepancy is confirmed, we will be sure there is something new and exciting but we won’t be sure exactly what it is."

“Ideally the discrepancy would inform new theoretical ideas that would lead to new predictions – for example, of how we might find the particle that carries the new force, if that’s what it is. The final confirmation would then be building an experiment to directly discover that particle.”

Work at the LHC has also yielded interesting results similar to Fermilab, albeit with a different sort of experiment that looks at the rate at which muons and electrons are formed as certain particles decay.

However, Patel, who worked on the LHC experiments, stated that the results were no longer coherent.

“They are different experiments, measuring different things, and there may or may not be a connection,” he noted.

The unexpected frequency of the muons' wobbles, according to Butterworth, was one of the longest-standing and most substantial differences between a measurement and the standard model.

“The measurement is a great achievement, and very unlikely to be in error now,” he explained. “So if the theory predictions get sorted out, this could indeed be the first confirmed evidence for a fifth force – or something else strange and beyond the standard model.”

  • Nature
  • Science
  • Physics

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
Protesters chant anti-Israeli slogans as they carry a banner that reads:" Freedom for Palestine, Alliance stop the war," during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Israeli embassy, in Athens, Monday, June 9, 2025 (AP)

Athens mayor slams Israeli ambassador over Gaza war, graffiti claim

  • Politics
  • 3 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS