Particles seen emerging from empty space for first time
7 hours ago
- #vacuum energy
- #quantum chromodynamics
- #particle physics
- Rare particles produced in high-energy proton collisions may show mass emerging from empty space, offering insight into how particles acquire mass.
- Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) predicts virtual particles, like quark-antiquark pairs, exist in a vacuum; with enough energy, these can become real, detectable particles.
- The STAR collaboration observed this process by colliding protons, detecting spin-aligned hyperons that decayed rapidly, confirming quarks originated from the vacuum.
- The findings could provide a new method to study vacuum properties and particle mass acquisition, though some caution that further validation is needed to exclude alternative explanations.