If, of course, this proposed fifth force of nature exists at all. It's a little bit more than speculation that it does, because some observations have been made. But then again, these observations does not necessarily confirm the presence of the fifth force.
If the fifth force has indeed been found, it may be linked to a light particle just 30 times heavier than an electron. This particle would be "proto-phobic". What a word. But it means just that it wouldn't interact with protons at all. It would interact, but weakly, with electrons and neutrons.
“If confirmed by further experiments, this discovery of a possible fifth force would
completely change our understanding of the universe,” says UCI professor
of physics & astronomy Jonathan Feng, including
what holds together galaxies such as this spiral one, called NGC 6814.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt.
completely change our understanding of the universe,” says UCI professor
of physics & astronomy Jonathan Feng, including
what holds together galaxies such as this spiral one, called NGC 6814.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt.
AnnAstronomy Now wrote:
Recent findings indicating the possible discovery of a previously unknown subatomic particle may be evidence of a fifth fundamental force of nature, according to a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters by theoretical physicists at the University of California, Irvine...
The UCI researchers came upon a mid-2015 study by experimental nuclear physicists at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences who were searching for “dark photons,” particles that would signify unseen dark matter, which physicists say makes up about 85 percent of the universe’s mass. The Hungarians’ work uncovered a radioactive decay anomaly that points to the existence of a light particle just 30 times heavier than an electron...
The UCI group studied the Hungarian researchers’ data as well as all other previous experiments in this area and showed that the evidence strongly disfavors both matter particles and dark photons. They proposed a new theory, however, that synthesises all existing data and determined that the discovery could indicate a fifth fundamental force. Their initial analysis was published in late April on the public arXiv online server, and a follow-up paper amplifying the conclusions of the first work was released Friday on the same website.
The UCI work demonstrates that instead of being a dark photon, the particle may be a “protophobic X boson.” While the normal electric force acts on electrons and protons, this newfound boson interacts only with electrons and neutrons — and at an extremely limited range. Analysis co-author Timothy Tait, professor of physics & astronomy, said, “There’s no other boson that we’ve observed that has this same characteristic. Sometimes we also just call it the ‘X boson,’ where ‘X’ means unknown.”...
Like many scientific breakthroughs, this one opens entirely new fields of inquiry.
One direction that intrigues Feng is the possibility that this potential fifth force might be joined to the electromagnetic and strong and weak nuclear forces as “manifestations of one grander, more fundamental force.”...
