Seeker's video: Could This Elusive Particle Reshape the Standard Model

Physicists are on the hunt for a mysterious particle that could totally change our understanding of the universe. Some scientists think this elusive particle is hiding in plain sight. » Subscribe to Seeker! http://bit.ly/subscribeseeker (then hit the little 🔔 icon and select "all.") » Watch more Elements! http://bit.ly/ElementsPlaylist » Visit our shop at http://shop.seeker.com The standard model of particle physics, with its quarks, leptons, and bosons, has served scientists incredibly well since it was first put forward in 1967. For the most part, it has correctly predicted the existence of particles with such precision that it’s often hailed as the most successful scientific theory of all time. And yet scientists are not done with it, and they’re constantly probing around its edges hunting for new particles. In fact several teams of scientists are racing to discover what’s known as a Majorana fermion, which could be a major key to settling some of the universe’s biggest mysteries. Read More: The vanishing neutrinos that could upend fundamental physics https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01955-3 These experiments have received less funding or attention than efforts to detect dark matter, but their impact across physics could be just as significant. The phenomenon of disappearing particles would suggest that neutrinos and antineutrinos, their antimatter counterparts, are one and the same — a possibility that Majorana first theorized1 in the 1930s. Microsoft-led team retracts quantum 'breakthrough' https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56328980 But Microsoft proposed a different route - trying to create qubits with the properties of Majorana particles, whose existence was first suggested in the 1930s by Italian physicist Ettore Majorana, which it said would make them less error prone. Majorana modes continue to elude https://physicsworld.com/a/majorana-modes-continue-to-elude/ Not observing a theoretically predicted feature in an experiment can be frustrating, but it is also a crucial step for advancing science. This is what happened when a team of physicists in Austria, Denmark and Spain went looking for a feature that purportedly comes from Majorana bound states, which are exotic quasiparticles that might one day become the workhorses of quantum computing. ____________________ Elements is more than just a science show. It’s your science-loving best friend, tasked with keeping you updated and interested in all the compelling, innovative, and groundbreaking science happening all around us. Join our passionate hosts as they help break down and present fascinating science, from quarks to quantum theory and beyond. Seeker empowers the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award-winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe. Visit the Seeker website https://www.seeker.com/videos Elements on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SeekerElements/ Subscribe now! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=dnewschannel Seeker on Twitter http://twitter.com/seeker Seeker on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SeekerMedia/ Seeker http://www.seeker.com/