Hints of new particle rumored to fade, but data analysis continues
LHC scientists hope to present latest results in August
Particle physics fans are just going to have to wait.
Rumors swirling on the internet are casting doubt on hints of a new particle reported by scientists at the particle physics laboratory CERN in Geneva. But researchers say it’s still too soon to know whether the particle exists or not.
“Currently the data are still being recorded and analyzed and it is too early to conclude,” says Beate Heinemann of the University of California, Berkeley. “We hope to be able to present the new data in early August.” Heinemann is the deputy spokesperson of ATLAS, an experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. ATLAS scientists, along with those from a second LHC experiment, CMS, reported signs of the new particle in December (SN: 1/9/16, p. 7).