A new theory defined by a group of French physicists at the University of Paris-Saclay claims to have simultaneously solved five of the most pressing problems in physics!
The theory introduces new particles aiming to unify a set of contradicting theories and claims in physics, namely dark matter, cosmic inflation, the strong CP problem, neutrino oscillations, and baryogenesis; where all of them are subjects related to quantum mechanics.
The theory is named SMASH and has added new entries in the Standard Model of Physics which is the catalogue of every type of particle that is known to mankind, such as quarks (the building blocks of protons and neutrons), electrons and neutrinos, and the latest addition of Higgs boson. All combined, they make up seventeen different types of particles.
However, using just the Standard Model was found to be inadequate to solve problems like the dark matter, which is a mysterious form of matter that is unmeasurable but accounts for nearly all of the calculated mass in the Universe. Many physicists have contemplated on declaring dark matter as another particle, while others have proposed hundreds of new particle additions to the Standard Model to explain the anomalies. The SMASH theory is considered to be groundbreaking as it claims to explain five different phenomena by only adding six other particles.
These six new additions are three different kinds of neutrino, plus a fermion and two more called the axion and the inflation. Out of these, the axion is believed to be the explaining particle for the dark matter. The other particles are bid to solve other Physics’ mysteries such as strange neutrino behaviour, cosmic inflation and the origin of the universe.
And unlike many other theories, this one is not that hard to test and verify. Most of the particles involved can be tested using the next generation of particle accelerators and telescopes that will be available in the very near future, thus heralding the dawn of very exciting times for modern day science.
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