SWITZERLAND-Physicists using the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, have discovered a new kind of heavy particle, they announced this week at a conference in Venice. The particle, known as Xi-cc++ (pronounced “Ks?-CC plus-plus”), is composed of three smaller elementary particles called quarks—specifically, one lighter-weight “up” quark like those found in protons and neutrons as well as two “charm” quarks, which are a heavier and more exotic variety. Either way, the new particle could be a tool to unlock a deeper understanding of the fundamental “strong” force that binds quarks together to form protons and neutrons, which in turn form atoms as well as planets, stars, galaxies and people. The heaviest are the charm, bottom [also called beauty] and top [also called truth], but the top is probably too heavy to arrange with other quarks, he said. Scientists have been deliberately creating high-energy collisions of protons in CERN’s 27-kilometre tunnel on the Swiss-French border near Geneva to see what they can discover about the makeup of the universe and its tiniest particles. Dr Patrick Spradlin, who led the study, said: 'The properties of the newly discovered Xi-cc++ baryon shed light on a longstanding puzzle surrounding the experimental status of baryons containing two charm quarks, opening an exciting new branch of investigation for LHCb.' But due to its doubly charmed nature it is almost four times heavier than more familiar baryons such as protons and neutrons, which are made up entirely of light quarks rather than heavy ones. "In contrast to other baryons, in which the three quarks perform an elaborate dance around each other, a doubly heavy baryon is expected to act like a planetary system, where the two heavy quarks play the role of heavy stars orbiting one around the other, with the lighter quark orbiting around this binary system," added Guy Wilkinson, former Spokesperson of the collaboration.
Scientists announce the detection of a new subatomic particle at the Large Hadron Collider.