Hints of New Physics Crop Up at LHC

[n2doc]

By Adam Mann October 21, 2011 | 12:11 pm | Categories: Physics


Preliminary findings from CERN’s Large Hadron Collider may have uncovered experimental evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. Data from the CMS experiment is showing significant excesses of particles known as leptons being created in triplets, a result that could be interpreted as evidence for a theory called supersymmetry.

The findings, presented during a talk Oct. 19 at a conference dedicated to LHC searches for new physics, have piqued the interest of some members of the field.

“This is clearly something to watch closely over the coming months,” physicist Matt Strassler wrote on his blog. That’s because these particular triple lepton signatures are sometimes called the “golden channel” to revealing supersymmetry, a theoretical model that posits the existence of a heavier partner to all known subatomic particles in order to solve certain problems with the Standard Model.


The most familiar lepton is the humble electron, though other, more exotic particles such as muons and taus also fall in this category. Producing a single one of these subatomic particles in the proton-proton collisions at the LHC is relatively rare, and generating two or even three at a time is even more unusual. Certain interactions predicted under supersymmetry could enhance the odds of triple lepton events, so seeing excesses is reason to raise some eyebrows.


more

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/hints-new-physics/

[jberryhill]

1. They are getting some great data out of that Large Hardon Collider /nt

[slutticus]

3. It comes in spurts. This may be a seminal event.

[intaglio]

6. Ooops

[slutticus]

2. .

[frogmarch]

4. from “Of Particular Significance”

blog by Matt Strassler, theoretical physicist, Rutgers University

Quick Summary of the Multi-lepton Situation at the LHC

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Matt Strassler

For those of you wondering about this new and interesting hint of possible (but still very doubtful) new physics from the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), here’s the summary of the situation.

Proton-proton collisions that produce three or more charged leptons and/or anti-leptons (“multi-leptons” for short) have long been seen as an excellent but very tricky place to look for new physics. I have written an http://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-physics-basics/multi-lepton-events-a-good-place-to-look-for-new-physics/">explanatory article as to why they are so good (to the point of being sometimes called “golden”), but also why they are tricky; there’s some fool’s gold in there.

On Wednesday and Thursday the CMS experiment gave two presentations (here are my detailed comments, showing some tables and plots, on talks #1 and on http://profmattstrassler.com/2011/10/20/a-second-look-at-the-curious-cmsevents/">#2) at a workshop in Berkeley, CA, giving two perspectives on a single set of multi-lepton events, obtained from data collected through August. They finds a small excess — more events than expected — but too small for CMS to claim to have seen anything significant.

The excess is still large enough to intrigue theoretical particle physicists and motivate some consideration of what new physics, if any, might cause such an excess, and how to look for it more efficiently.

Much more: http://profmattstrassler.com/2011/10/21/quick-summary-of-the-multi-lepton-situation-at-the-lhc/

[roguevalley]

5. I love this thing. I remember when they couldn't get it to run because

it was shutting down. They tried to understand why and one of them said that someone or something or some process from the future was doing it. Mercy. :)