Misbehaving kaons could hint at the existence of new particles

Certain extremely rare decays seem to be happening more often than expected

KOTO detector

New subatomic particles could explain a surprisingly large number of decays of particles called kaons seen in the KOTO experiment (detector shown).

Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) Center

A little-known type of particle called a kaon may be stepping into the spotlight.