Trending Now - Cern's Lhcb Collaboration Identifies New Proton-like Particle
WHO:
CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Vincenzo Vagnoni, spokesman for the LHCb experiment
Mark Thomson, CERN Director-General
WHAT:
The Large Hadron Collider discovered a new particle named "Xi-cc-plus".
The new particle is the 80th identified by the Large Hadron Collider.
The "Xi-cc-plus" particle consists of two charm quarks and one down quark.
The new particle is four times heavier than a proton.
The discovery was presented at the Moriond conference.
The new particle has a predicted lifetime six times shorter than a previously discovered similar particle.
The new particle was observed with a statistical significance of 7 sigma.
WHERE:
The Large Hadron Collider is located about 100 meters below France and Switzerland.
WHEN:
The upgrades to the LHCb detector were completed in 2023.
The similar particle was discovered by LHCb in 2017.
The announcement of the new particle was made on Tuesday, March 17th, 2026.
WHY:
The discovery aims to help scientists understand the strong force that binds quarks into baryons and mesons.
The research will assist theorists in testing models of quantum chromodynamics.
HOW:
The Large Hadron Collider sends particles around a 27-kilometer (17-mile) underground ring at high speeds until they collide.
The properties of the original particle are deduced from the decay of more stable particles produced in the collisions.
(UPDATED March 18, 2026 07:21 UTC)
In a significant breakthrough, scientists at CERN announced the discovery of a new particle named "Xi-cc-plus," which is the 80th particle identified by the Large Hadron Collider and is four times heavier than a proton. The discovery, presented at the Moriond conference on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, reveals that this particle consists of two charm quarks and one down quark, with a predicted lifetime six times shorter than a similar particle found in 2017. This research aims to deepen our understanding of the strong force that binds quarks into baryons and mesons, helping theorists test models of quantum chromodynamics.