Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 12 hrs ago
LHC researchers detect a rare beauty-quark decay at tiny scales
Researchers using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN detected a rare particle decay by analysing collision data from the LHCb experiment.
The decay happens when a short-lived particle called a beauty quark breaks down into two muons, and it is extraordinarily rare.
Beauty quarks are created when protons collide at high energy and exist for only a tiny fraction of a second.
Scientists have searched for this decay for decades because rare events can be affected by particles not yet discovered.
Some theories suggest that particles at these tiny scales could include or be influenced by dark matter, which has not been directly detected.
The finding does not confirm dark matter or identify new particles, but more data could reveal what is influencing the decay.
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider reported evidence of an extremely rare beauty-quark decay into two muons.
The decay, known as Bd to mu mu, occurs in about one in 10 billion beauty-quark decays, according to the Daily Mail.
Researchers searched 10 years of data from the LHCb experiment to find the event.
The finding could help scientists investigate whether unknown particles affect how beauty quarks decay.
The work was due to be presented at CERN on 3 November 2026.
- Who
- Researchers working on the LHCb experiment, led in the analysis by Dr Harry Cliff of the University of Cambridge.
- What
- They found evidence of a rare beauty-quark decay into two muons. The finding could help researchers investigate possible new particles.
- When
- The research was due to be presented at CERN on 3 November 2026. The search used 10 years of collision data.
- Where
- At CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, using data from the LHCb experiment.
- Why
- The rare decay may be sensitive to the influence of unknown particles, which could alter how often it occurs.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Physicists began searching for this type of rare decay, according to the Daily Mail.
An upgrade helped researchers distinguish particle types, according to the Daily Mail.
Researchers searched LHCb collision data for the decay.
The research was due to be presented at CERN.
- Decay
- Beauty quark into two muons
- Frequency
- About 1 in 10 billion beauty-quark decays
- Experiment
- LHCb
- Data searched
- 10 years
- Analysis lead
- Dr Harry Cliff, University of Cambridge
3 sources
What people are saying
Seeing clear evidence for this rarest decay for the first time was thrilling.
We're knocking on the door of this zeptoverse
And what we want to do now is go in and explore and find what new particles are waiting there. And to do that, what we need is more data