The Standard Model of Particle Physics
The Standard Model of particle physics theory is essentially the period table for particles, which govern the subatomic world. Scientists consider it the building blocks of reality as we know it.
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In simplistic terms, atoms are comprised of smaller particles, including protons and neutrons. These, in turn, are made up of smaller subatomic particles known to physicists as quarks, all of which are held together by gluons.
Complicated Equations Lead to Estimations
The Standard Model provides physicists with an understanding of the subatomic world and all the particles contained within. However, it also allows researchers to theorize the existence of particles despite them never being observed.
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One such particle is the “glueball,” which physicists have been hunting for half a century. The latter is comprised solely of gluons, without any quarks.
The Search for the Glueball
The elusive glueball particle has become quite the headache for particle physicists over the past five decades.
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In order to prove its existence, researchers have had to smash together protons and antiprotons, hoping one gets left behind in the explosive aftermath. While they had no luck, it appears a team of Chinese researchers may have finally made a breakthrough.
Beijing Electron–Positron Collider II
Scientists working with the Beijing Electron–Positron Collider II, a technological device that allows researchers to essentially smash parts into one another at unprecedented speeds, believe they have made a breakthrough.
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In a new study, the team details the discovery of a new particle, X(2370), which they believe could be the highly sought-after glueball.
A Promising Candidate
According to the Chinese research team, which has been scanning through over a decade’s worth of data from around 10 billion samples, X(2370) is a promising candidate.
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After checking off several key identifiers, including the average mass of 2,395 MeV/c2, which is the theorized mass of the glueball, the scientists believe they have finally received sufficient evidence to prove its existence.
Strange Prediction
Based on the initial analysis, the prediction may seem strange. As anyone familiar with subatomic particles will know, technically, gluons are famous for having no mass. However, the energy that binds gluons together does, and some of this is transferred to the particle itself.
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So researchers took this information and studied X(2370), which they soon realized decays from a meson particle known as J/ψ, which is comprised of an equal amount of quarks and anti-quarks.
Scientists Publish a Paper in a Journal
The scientists who made the discovery working with the Beijing Electron–Positron Collider II in China later published a paper in the journal Physical Review Letters, further elaborating on their data and explaining why the X(2370) could be the glueball particle.
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“In particular, the glueball is a unique particle formed via the interaction among gauge boson particles,” the scientists wrote in their paper.
Ideal Searching Spot for Glueballs
According to the researchers, the J/ψ meson’s radioactive decay is the perfect spot to look for evidence of the elusive glueballs.
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“The radiative decay of the J/ψ meson is a gluon-rich process and is therefore regarded as an ideal place for searching and studying glueballs,” wrote the researchers.
Not the First Candidate
While X(2370) is certainly a promising candidate for the elusive glueball, it’s not the first time researchers have thought they have finally found the particle.
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In 2015, a group of researchers from the Vienna University of Technology thought they had finally discovered the glueball and even published a paper highlighting their particle dubbed f0(1710).
No Real Evidence Just Yet
The f0(1710) behaves as expected of the theorized glueball in that it decays into strange quarks. It even helped researchers further their theory of the glueball.
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Unfortunately, the team of scientists from Vienna couldn’t prove with absolute certainty that their newly discovered particle was the glueball.
Confirming the Science Behind the Standard Model
As things stand, neither the X(2370) nor f0(1710) particles have provided researchers with enough information to say with certainty they are the highly sought-after glueball. However, that doesn’t mean this won’t change in the future.
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In the end, researchers are hopeful the particle’s existence will once and for all confirm the science of the Standard Model and QCD theories. Meaning the theory that a particle comprised solely of strong nuclear force exists in our universe.