Hypothetical particles are proposed physical entities that extend or modify established particle content in a given theoretical framework, typically introduced to resolve inconsistencies, explain unexplained phenomena, or complete symmetries in high-energy and gravitational physics. As physical systems, they are characterized by well-defined quantum numbers, interaction types, mass scales, and roles in Lagrangian formulations, yet they lack direct experimental confirmation. Examples in model-building include particles postulated in supersymmetry, grand unified theories, dark matter and dark energy models, and quantum gravity scenarios, where their properties are constrained by consistency with known symmetries, renormalizability, cosmological evolution, and precision tests of the Standard Model and general relativity.
Axions, hypothetical subatomic particles that were first proposed by theoretical physicists in the late 1970s, remain among the most promising dark matter candidates. Physics theories suggest that the interactions between ...
While many research groups worldwide have been searching for dark matter over the past decades, detecting it has so far proved very challenging, thus very little is known about its possible composition and physical properties. ...
To learn more about the nature of matter, energy, space, and time, physicists smash high-energy particles together in large accelerator machines, creating sprays of millions of particles per second of a variety of masses ...
Quantum Physics
Apr 24, 2025
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Neutrinos, elusive fundamental particles, can act as a window into the center of a nuclear reactor, the interior of the Earth, or some of the most dynamic objects in the universe. Their tendency to change "flavors" may provide ...
General Physics
Apr 23, 2025
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57
The CMS collaboration at CERN has observed an unexpected feature in data produced by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which could point to the existence of the smallest composite particle yet observed. The result, reported ...
General Physics
Apr 3, 2025
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A possible method for probing the properties of exotic particles that exist on the surfaces of an unusual type of superconductor has been theoretically proposed by two RIKEN physicists.
Condensed Matter
Mar 13, 2025
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Researchers have announced results from a new search at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (European XFEL) Facility at Hamburg for a hypothetical particle that may make up the dark matter of the universe. The experiment ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 18, 2025
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Detecting dark matter particles and understanding their underlying physics is a long-standing research goal for many researchers worldwide. Dark matter searches have been aimed at detecting different possible signals that ...
Detecting dark matter, the elusive type of matter predicted to account for most of the universe's mass, has so far proved to be very challenging. While physicists have not yet been able to determine what exactly this matter ...
Strange "right-handed" neutrinos may be responsible for all the matter in the universe, according to new research.
Astronomy
Jan 16, 2025
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