CERN has issued a statement that the LHC has stumbled across some “unusual” readings which may pave the way for the first significant scientific breakthroughs, an exciting prospect for the particle physics community.
CERN published a paper this week that details how proton collisions seemed to produce “hot dense matter” like the kind that would have been present shortly after the Big Bang. Unlike the results shared at conferences over the summer, which confirmed already known physics concepts, these results reported by CERN are just a taste of the new and intriguing physics discoveries in store for the machine.
In studying the LHC’s proton-proton collisions, the CMS collaboration has discovered correlations that indicate that some of the particles are linked in a previously unexplained way. The collaboration, however, is cautious to jump to conclusions and is aware that several explanations may need to be explored.
“Now we need more data to analyze fully what’s going on, and to take our first steps into the vast landscape of new physics we hope the LHC will open up,” said CMS Spokesperson Guido Tonelli.
According to CERN, proton running will continue through the end of October, and will be followed by lead nuclei collisions.
