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CERN Scientists Observe Rare Particle Decay That Helps Confirm Theory About Universe’s Birth
Friday, July 19, 2013 16:33
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GENEVA — After a quarter-century of searching, scientists have nailed down how one particularly rare subatomic particle decays into something else – a discovery that adds certainty to our thinking about how the universe began and keeps running.
The world’s top particle physics lab said Friday it had measured the decay time of a particle known as a Bs (B sub s) meson into two other fundamental particles called muons, which are much heavier than but similar to electrons.
It was observed as part of the reams of data coming from CERN’s $10 billion Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest atom smasher, on the Swiss-French border near Geneva.
Large Hadron Collider at CERN where physicists conducted particle decay experiment.
The rare sighting at the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, shows that the so-called standard model of particle physics is “coming through with flying colors,” though it describes only 5 percent of the universe, said Pierluigi Campana, who leads one of the two main teams at CERN involved in the research.
By JOHN HEILPRIN
HUFFPOST
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