Scientists have created a new mathematical method that could help reveal hidden particles that have so far escaped detection.
Inspired by the way a skilled musician can learn about a piano simply by hearing its notes, the researchers have shown that tiny clues left behind in particle experiments can be used to uncover the properties of unknown particles that exist at much higher energies.
The study, led by an international team of physicists, will be published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
The new approach could help researchers search for new laws of physics that go beyond the current understanding of the universe.
Modern physics is built on the Standard Model, a theory that explains the basic particles and forces that make up matter. It has been remarkably successful in describing how the universe works.
However, scientists know it is incomplete because it cannot explain mysteries such as dark matter, gravity at the quantum level, or several other unexplained observations.
Many researchers believe that unknown particles exist beyond the Standard Model. The problem is that these particles are extremely difficult to detect. They are thought to form during incredibly energetic particle collisions, exist for only a tiny fraction of a second, and disappear almost immediately. Instead of seeing the particles directly, scientists can only measure the small effects they leave behind.
The researchers compared this challenge to identifying a piano without ever seeing it. An experienced listener can often estimate the size, shape, and design of a piano simply by listening to its sound. In a similar way, physicists hope to learn about hidden particles by studying the tiny “notes” they leave in experimental data.
The team focused on mathematical values known as Wilson coefficients. These numbers describe very small changes in the behavior of known particles. Although the changes are tiny, they may contain important information about unknown particles or forces that exist at much higher energies.
The researchers developed a new mathematical algorithm that can work backward from these measurements. Instead of only recording the small changes, the method allows scientists to infer what kinds of hidden particles could have produced them.
This work is based on a framework called effective field theory. Rather than trying to observe high-energy particles directly, effective field theory studies how those particles subtly influence the interactions that scientists can measure in today’s experiments.
The researchers say this is similar to hearing a melody and then reconstructing the musical instrument that produced it. The measurable signals are like the piano’s notes, while the hidden particles are like the unseen piano itself.
One advantage of the new method is that it can immediately make use of data already being collected at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. The collider smashes particles together at extremely high speeds, allowing scientists to measure the tiny effects described by Wilson coefficients. The new algorithm can use these existing measurements to search for evidence of previously unknown particles.
This is important because particle accelerators do not always reach energies high enough to produce new particles directly. Even if hidden particles cannot be created in an experiment, they may still leave faint fingerprints by slightly changing the behavior of familiar particles.
Until now, translating these tiny experimental effects into detailed predictions about unknown particles has been a major challenge. The researchers believe their new mathematical approach solves this long-standing problem by providing a clear link between measurable data and the hidden physics that may lie beyond it.
If the method proves successful, it could become a valuable tool in the search for new particles and new physical laws.
Rather than waiting for future, more powerful particle accelerators, scientists may be able to uncover important discoveries by taking a fresh look at data that already exists, helping reveal more of the universe’s hidden structure.
