Researchers near the city of Chicago in the US are suggesting that they might be on the brink of discovering a new fundamental force of nature. If proven, this force could dictate the way all objects and particles in the universe interact with each other, becoming the fifth fundamental force.

They have obtained new evidence showing that subatomic particles called muons behave differently from what the current atomic physics theory predicts.

Scientists believe that an unknown force could be at play in the behavior of muons.

More data is needed to confirm these findings, but if validated, it could mark the beginning of a revolution in physics.

In our daily lives, all forces we experience can currently be reduced to four categories: gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force. These four fundamental forces determine the interactions of all objects and particles in the universe.

The new findings were obtained at a US particle accelerator facility called Fermilab, building upon the team's initial suggestion in 2021 of the possibility of a fifth fundamental force.

According to Dr. Brendan Casey, a senior scientist at Fermilab, the research team has since collected more data and significantly reduced the uncertainty of their measurements.

"We're exploring a genuinely new region. We're doing measurements with a precision that's never been seen before," says Casey.

In the experiment, named 'g minus 2 (g-2),' researchers accelerate subatomic particles called muons around a 15-meter ring at nearly the speed of light, making them circle the ring about a thousand times.

They have gathered data suggesting that muons might be behaving in a way that cannot be explained by the current theory known as the Standard Model, possibly due to the influence of a new natural force.

While the data is compelling, the Fermilab team does not yet have definitive proof.

They were hoping to have this by now, but due to developments in theoretical physics, uncertainties about what the amount of "wobble" in muons predicted by the Standard Model should be have increased.

This has shifted the criteria for experimental physicists.

"IGNITING THE SPARK OF A NEW BEGINNING"
Researchers believe they will have the necessary data and that the theoretical uncertainties will decrease enough within the next two years to reach their goals.

A competing team at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Europe aims to achieve this milestone even sooner.

Dr. Mitesh Patel from Imperial College London, one of the thousands of physicists trying to find flaws in the Standard Model at the LHC, says that those who first discover behavior that contradicts the predictions of the Standard Model will make one of the greatest discoveries in the history of physics.

"Measuring behaviors that don't fit with the predictions of the Standard Model is the expected goal of particle physics. The Model has been based on all experimental tests for over 50 years, so it would ignite the spark of a new beginning in our understanding because behaviors that deviate from the predictions have been missing for the first time."

Fermilab states that their next set of results will be "ultimate data" that might reveal new particles or forces beyond current theory and experiment.

WHAT IS THE STANDARD MODEL?
So, what is the Standard Model, and why is obtaining experimental results that don't quite match its predictions such a big deal?

Everything around us is made of atoms; atoms, in turn, consist of smaller particles. These particles interact, forming the four fundamental forces of nature: electromagnetism, the strong and weak nuclear forces, and gravity.

For half a century, the motion of these has been predicted flawlessly by the Standard Model.

Muon's, subatomic particles 200 times larger than electrons, are involved in the experiment, known as the 'g minus 2 (g-2).' In this experiment, scientists accelerate muons – which are responsible for electric currents in atoms – around a 15-meter ring, making them circle the ring about a thousand times at nearly the speed of light.

The results showed that muons wobble faster than predicted by the Standard Model. Professor Graziano Venanzoni, a leading researcher on the project from the University of Liverpool, stated that this might stem from an unknown new force.

"We think that there could be something there. Something different, something we're not aware of yet, but something that could be quite important, because it's saying something new about the universe."





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