Science Friday CERN finds a new particle + News alerts for the cosmos
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Mar 30, 2026 Hassan Jawahery, an experimental particle physicist at UMD, explains the discovery of an extra-heavy baryon made of two charm quarks. Eric Bellm, Rubin Observatory alert lead and astronomer, describes a real-time system that sent 800,000 alerts on its first night. They discuss how the particle was detected, its fleeting nature, and how massive alert streams are filtered and followed up in minutes.
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Not Fundamental But Theory-Testing
- This find is not a new fundamental particle but a new composite state that tests our theories of quark interactions.
- Seeing predicted mass and properties validates theoretical foundations about how heavy quarks bind in extreme conditions.
Keep Enhancing Detector Sensitivity
- Continue improving experimental sensitivity rather than expecting surprises immediately.
- Upgraded detectors and longer running time enabled LHCb to observe this heavy, rare state now that capabilities have improved.
Very Short Lifetime Reveals Interaction Details
- The particle is extremely short-lived, lasting less than a few trillionths of a second.
- Its fleeting existence prevents forming atoms but still provides measurable properties like mass and lifetime for theory tests.