Since the 1960s, scientists have identified over a dozen fundamental particles, seamlessly fitting into the theoretical structure known as the Standard Model – the most comprehensive description physicists have of the subatomic realm.

The Higgs boson, the last fundamental particle anticipated by the Standard Model, was co-discovered by the CMS and ATLAS experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in 2012.

Despite this significant milestone, numerous inquiries persist regarding the universe’s fundamental constituents.

Scientists acknowledge that the Standard Model remains incomplete and falls short in elucidating various physical phenomena, with dark matter standing out as a prominent example.

Researchers worldwide are actively challenging the limits of the Standard Model, embarking on quests to uncover new particles that may shed light on unresolved questions about the intricate workings of the universe, Phys.org reported.

“We’re in the business of finding new particles,” said Cristian Peña, the convener of the CMS exotic particles group and scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. “That’s what we’re here for.”

Peña and fellow scientists at Fermilab have joined forces with their global counterparts on CMS to develop an innovative tool. This tool enables them to search for particles capable of traveling approximately 1 to 10 meters before undergoing decay into more stable byproducts.

Currently, scientists are scrutinizing the dataset generated by this tool.

According to Peña, this analysis will either unveil new insights into physics or establish the most rigorous constraints in the pursuit of long-lived particles—a category encompassing theoretical particles with the ability to traverse deep into the detector before generating observable signals.

Written by B.C. Begley