Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery as a result of clashes between protons in a large particle collider known as the ADRONE COLLIDERIA. Physicists have recorded over 100 rare and unstable particles called hypers, which are nuclear nuclei containing a unique type of quark, from 2016 to 2018.
The ADRONE COLLIDERIA is an important tool for physicists as it allows them to collide particles at high speeds, enabling the exploration of short-lived particles that would otherwise go undetected.
One of these rare particles, called a hypertriton, consists of protons, neutrons, and lambda-hyperons that contain a strange quark. Hypers, including the hypertriton, are of significant interest, particularly in relation to astrophysics. Scientists believe that hyperons can form inside neutron stars, which are the collapsed cores of stars that have survived supernova explosions.
Scientists have utilized a new technique for detecting hypertritons in the ADRONE COLLIDERIA. Hypertritons and their antimatter counterparts, known as antihypertritons, were not directly observed. Instead, scientists detected the products of their decay.
This decay process results in the creation of pions and helium/antihelium nuclei. By examining the data from the ADRONE COLLIDERIA using a new helium identification technique, scientists have identified 61 hypertritons and 46 antihypertritons.
The implications of this discovery extend beyond the field of particle physics. Understanding the processes involved in the creation and annihilation of antihelium in space can provide insights into its abundance on Earth.
This breakthrough also offers a new avenue for studying the properties of hypertritons and expanding our understanding of how quarks are interconnected within nuclei.
The results of this study were presented at the European Conference on High-Energy Physics and will soon be published in a scientific journal.