Discovery of New Fundamental Particles at CERN

Physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland have announced the discovery of a tetraquark. A tetraquark is a four-quark combination. This configuration is highly unstable and decays into other particles almost immediately after formation. Quarks are fundamental particles and one of the basic components of matter. According to the Cosmos website, the type of combination of these particles has been unknown to physicists until now. Since quark combinations often consist of two or three particles, the discovery of this four-particle combination has excited physicists. All neutrons and protons are made up of quarks. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the building blocks of atomic nuclei. There are six different types of quarks, each referred to as a flavor: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. The most stable state of quarks occurs when they are grouped in threes. However, in recent years, physicists have discovered that temporary groups of quarks can also form with two or four particles. In 2014, CERN scientists successfully discovered the first four-quark particle (tetraquark). In 2015, the same team discovered the first five-quark combination. None of these combinations are stable and decay within a fraction of a second. According to Science News, these four particles are named X(4274), X(4500), X(4700), and X(4140). All of them consist of one charm, one anti-charm, one strange, and one anti-strange quark, but their energy levels differ. In addition to measuring their mass, physicists have also succeeded in measuring their quantum numbers, which determine their atomic positions. Physicists say that the significance of this discovery lies in the fact that all four of these particles are made up of heavier quarks (strange and charm), and studying them allows scientists to investigate the interactions between larger quarks.