quarks

Hadrons count among their number the familiar protons and neutrons that make up our atoms, but they are much more than that.

A re-examination of a particle discovered in 2015 has scientists debating its true identity. A recent analysis by the LHCb collaboration at CERN raises questions about the identity of this pentaquark—and may have taken scientists back to square one in the search for a particle that could shed light on questions about color.

From Gizmodo, Feb. 25, 2016: Physicists from the DZero collaboration have announced the discovery of a new particle, believed to be part of an exotic family called “tetraquarks.”

An article to appear in the February 9 issue of Science describes results contained in a paper submitted to Physical Review Letters by the 450-member Collider Detector at Fermilab collaboration.