From Pour la Science, April 11, 2022: A new measurement of the mass of the W boson is higher than predicted by the Standard Model. Is this a sign of new physics? For experts in the field, this conclusion would be premature. But this result is nevertheless very interesting as one of the most difficult measurements in physics.
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From Forbes, Sept. 8, 2021: The Standard Model provides the framework of all the known and discovered fundamental particles, but has no way of providing expected values for what masses each particle should possess. Fermilab’s Main Ring, in operation for 25 years by physicists who used the accelerator for experiments, helped to create our current picture of the ultimate structure of matter, the Standard Model of particle interactions.
Extremely massive fundamental particles could exist, but they would seriously mess with our understanding of quantum mechanics.
Imagine a particle. What comes to mind? If you aren’t a theoretical particle physicist, chances are you picture a tiny ball, bobbing in space. But that’s not quite correct. One way to prove it: Try to imagine that tiny ball as a particle with no mass. If a particle has no mass, how can it exist?
In this 8-minute video, Don Lincoln explains how, conceptually speaking at least, there are two kinds of mass — gravitational and inertial — and how the relationship between the two has huge consequences on our understanding of the universe.
You’ve got your pole masses, and you’ve got your MC masses. DZero recently measured the top quark’s pole mass. Read on to learn the difference.
The Higgs field gives mass to elementary particles, but most of our mass comes from somewhere else.
A possible explanation for the lightness of neutrinos could help answer some big questions about the universe.