Particle Physics - What Is the Standard Model?

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The large hatroclide, or l c, has been swi off for three years. The experiment was looking at the decay of a particle called the beauty quark. And it was expected to decay inof equal rates into electrons and these other heavier versions of electrons called meons. But the experiment seemed to show that these beauty quarks were turning into meons 50 % less often. It showed a kind of divergence from what the standard model predicted should happen,. which suggested that something else might be going on. That's what they're now investigating next.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has recently been switched back on after a three-year hiatus to resolve a mysterious and tantalising result from its previous run. So far, everything discovered at the LHC has agreed with the standard model, the guiding theory of particle physics that describes the building blocks of matter, and the forces that guide them. However, recent findings show particles behaving in a way that can’t be explained by known physics. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian science correspondent Hannah Devlin and Prof Jon Butterworth about why this might be a clue towards solving some of the deepest mysteries of the universe, and how the LHC will be searching for a potential fifth force of nature. This podcast was amended on 12 May 2022. An earlier version incorrectly claimed that the standard model incorporates four fundamental forces of nature, instead of three.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod