Is the Standard Model of particle physics incorrect at key points? Recently there has been an increase in experimental observations that deviate from the predictions of this widely accepted physical theory. A current study by the University of Bonn now provides even stronger evidence for the existence of "new physics." The final version of the paper is now published in the journal Physics Letters B. Lead author Chien-Yeah Seng will present the results in mid-October at the fall meeting of the U.S. Physical Society.
The Standard Model of particle physics describes the building blocks that make up the world—us humans, the grains of sand on the beach, the ocean water in which we cool ourselves, but also the sun that burns down on us. The Model also explains what forces act between these elementary particles, and allows us to understand many physical phenomena.
"However, there are also questions that this theory cannot answer," explains Dr. Chien-Yeah Seng, a postdoctoral researcher at the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn. "For example, most researchers assume that 95 percent of our universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy, which we cannot detect directly with our measuring instruments. But the existence of these mysterious components cannot be deduced from the Standard Model."
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