Study supports Standard Model of particle physics, excludes alternative models

In a new study, researchers at Northwestern, Harvard and Yale universities examined the shape of an electron's charge with unprecedented precision to confirm that it is perfectly spherical. A slightly squashed charge could have indicated unknown, hard-to-detect heavy particles in the electron's presence, a discovery that could have upended the global physics community.

"If we had discovered that the shape wasn't round, that would be the biggest headline in physics for the past several decades," said Gerald Gabrielse, who led the research at Northwestern. "But our finding is still just as scientifically significant because it strengthens the Standard Model of particle physics and excludes alternative models."

The study will be published Oct. 18 in the journal Nature. In addition to Gabrielse, the research was led by John Doyle, the Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics at Harvard, and David DeMille, professor of physics at Yale. The trio leads the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Advanced Cold Molecule Electron (ACME) Electric Dipole Moment Search.