Chapter 160 Failure is the mother of success
Chen Zhengping undoubtedly welcomes Xu Chuan's joining.
At present, their research progress, whether it is NTU, UM, or Georgia Institute of Technology, has reached a deadlock.
None of the three universities could find the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks (top quark t and bottom quark b) from the collision experimental data.
There is not much time left for them. If nothing is discovered within the time limit set by CERN, this part of the data will be fully disclosed and studied by all physicists together.
However, it can be said that the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and the third-generation heavy quarks (top quark t and bottom quark b) is destined to be discovered.
After all, the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between the Higgs and the third-generation light quark particle (Tao t) was discovered last year.
This confirms the correctness of the Higgs mechanism.
Under this mechanism, the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks (top quark t and bottom quark b) is destined to be discovered.
Now it depends on who can find valuable clues or evidence from the collision experiment data first.
This is a result that is destined to be harvested. If you miss it like this, I am afraid no one will be willing to accept it.
But no one knows exactly which collision energy level the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks (top quark t and bottom quark b) will occur.
If a researcher with outstanding mathematical abilities can help them analyze this year's collision data, even if they cannot find clues from this year's experimental data, they can rule out the possibility of an energy level.
Or, find something else, like find the region where the Higgs boson is most likely to decay.
This will be of great help for applying for experimental data next time.
At least CERN will look at this data analysis and take their capabilities into consideration.
After all, CERN is not a public welfare organization. Although their funding comes from member countries all over the world, they have to do something with the funding.
Teams that are capable or can produce results quickly will naturally be given priority by CERN.
NTU's ability to obtain experimental data analysis rights from other competitors this time is inseparable from the achievements made by Chinese scientific researchers at CERN in recent years.
In particular, the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between the Higgs and the third-generation lepton (Tao τ), as well as the discovery of tetraquark particles and pentaquark particles, which are the results of China's in-depth participation, have won them a lot of chips.
Otherwise, in this scientific research organization dominated by Western countries, Nanda may not be able to apply for this scientific research experiment.
For Xu Chuan, the purpose of joining his mentor Chen Zhengping’s team was not to find the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and the third-generation heavy quark (top quark t and bottom quark b).
For this year's research, he actually already knew the outcome in advance.
This is an experimental study that has a high probability of failure.
Because the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and the third-generation heavy quark (top quark t and bottom quark b) was discovered in 2018.
It will be two years later that CERN will discover the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks for the first time.
Xu Chuan has a deep memory of this incident, because in his previous life, in 2018, which was about the time when he officially entered the world of physics, he paid more attention to these things.
The reason why he said it was a high probability rather than a hundred percent was because he couldn't guarantee that there would be no clues in this year's experimental data.
After all, he has not seen this year's experimental data. Maybe there are some clues hidden in this year's experimental data?
But to be honest, Xu Chuan didn't have high hopes for this.
On the one hand, NTU, UM and Georgia Institute of Technology have basically given the answer.
At least a dozen researchers from three universities analyzed a piece of experimental data but failed to find any clues. Xu Chuan did not believe that any clues could be missed by these researchers.
This probability is still quite low. After all, this is not looking for unknown particles outside the standard model, and people know nothing about them.
Based on the experience of discovering the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation light quarks last year, if the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation light quarks really appears in this experimental data, it should be It cannot be missed by researchers from three universities.
It is still possible for one university to make an error or omission, but for three universities to make an error or omission at the same time, the probability is too low.
In addition, the data generated by each collision experiment is basically different. Even if two collision experiments have exactly the same energy level, experimental details, and experimental procedures, the data generated may be different.
Therefore, it is not certain whether there is data on the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation light quarks in the collision experimental data this time.
Just like the discovery of the Higgs particle.
Since March 2010, the LHC has been intensively collecting and analyzing data, but it was not until July 4, 2012 that CERN announced the discovery of the Higgs particle.
This journey of exploring the Higgs particle lasted for more than two years. The collision energy level was searched in the 100~180GeV region, and finally the excess event was detected at 125-126GeV and this mysterious particle was found.
Judging from these two points, the probability that this experimental data may contain data and clues about the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks is quite low.
However, although there is no hope of finding clues from this experimental data, it may be possible to conduct a data analysis on the Yukawa coupling energy level of Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks with the help of this data.
After all, at CERN today, if you want to find a new particle or phenomenon, you rely on analyzing experimental data through the collision of different particles at different energy levels in the LHC.
Just like the Higgs particle, the collision energy level has been searched in the 100~180GeV region.
If the Higgs boson hadn't been the last piece of the puzzle for the Standard Model, I'm afraid the LHC wouldn't have dedicated two years of collision experiments for it.
After all, every time the Large Strong Particle Collider is started, money is burned in units of millions of meters of gold, or even tens of millions of meters of gold.
The power consumption of the LHC exceeds 200 megawatts, which means it consumes more than 200,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per hour. If an average household consumes 2,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, one hour of LHC operation is enough for one hundred ordinary households to use for one year.
This is only the power consumed by the collider when it is running. It does not include other things, such as large supercomputers processing data, etc. These are also huge power-consuming equipment.
In addition, there are expenses such as personnel wages, equipment maintenance, etc.
If it weren't for such a money-burning effort to find the last particle in the Standard Model and verify the origin of mass, I'm afraid CERN wouldn't do it.
Using mathematics, we analyzed the Yukawa coupling collision data between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks to determine at which energy level the coupling phenomenon would occur, and to determine the decay of the Higgs boson into a pair of bottom quarks. The ideal search channel for (H→BB) is undoubtedly of great value.
From a material perspective, if this step can be achieved, at least tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of meters of gold can be saved in collision funds.
In terms of scientific research and development, this is an important progress in the search for new physics. These analyzes are a vital step in the long journey of measuring the properties of the Higgs boson, helping scientists understand the key to the origin of mass.
This is why Xu Chuan, after solving his own 'proton radius mystery' problem, still chose to stay at the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks, even though he knew that this experiment would most likely not be able to find it. CERN, the reason for joining mentor Chen Zhengping’s team.
This is also the reason why he has set his main study direction in this life as mathematics.
In academia, at least in the physics world, mathematics is inseparable.
Although mathematical calculations and mathematical analysis cannot directly allow you to see particles or collision phenomena, they can analyze collision data and find key points, thereby saving a lot of time and money.
The collision of top physical ability + top mathematical ability can promote more things than imagined.
Xu Chuan now understands this deeply. His current ability in mathematics is not truly top-notch, but it has already helped him solve a lot of troubles.
For example, Chen Zhengping's tungsten diselenide experiment, the previous Xu-Weyl-Berry theorem method of calculating celestial parameters, this time's proton radius mystery, etc. are all based on mathematics.
This also makes him believe that if he can improve his mathematical ability to the top in this life, he will definitely be able to see some new things that he could not see in his previous life.
After joining his mentor's experimental team, Xu Chuan followed Chen Zhengping to analyze data and 'learn' theoretical physics knowledge during the day, and perfected his thesis in the hotel at night. His life was quite fulfilling.
Even though he knew the results in advance, he did not work overtime day and night to complete the experimental data analysis.
There is still more than a month until NTU submits this report, and it is enough to complete it before then.
The days passed like this, and in the blink of an eye, it was mid-September.
In CERN's office in China, Xu Chuan sat at a desk, staring at the data on the table in a daze.
More than half a month has passed, enough for him to go through all the experimental data.
Although he hopes to find clues to the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks in this experimental data.
But unfortunately, this is not included in the experimental data.
If there are clues about the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks, Xu Chuan believes that with his current sensitivity to data, he will definitely be able to find some anomalies.
Unfortunately, in the past half month, he had gone through the experimental data many times and failed to find any valuable clues.
This is normal.
Not every collision experiment can discover something, and not every collision data is valuable.
At CERN, each operation of the LHC will produce about 10 billion particle collisions per second, and each collision can provide about 100MB of data. Therefore, the annual raw data volume is expected to exceed 40kEB.
But based on current technology and budgets, it is impossible to store 40kEB of data, and only a small part of this data is actually meaningful.
Therefore, there is no need to record all data, and the actual amount of recorded data has been reduced to approximately 1PB per day after supercomputer analysis.
For example, in the last real data collection in 2015, only 160PB of real data and 240PB of simulated data were collected, while most of the other data was discarded.
Whether you can find anything in the remaining data depends largely on luck.
It is normal that there is no data on the Yukawa coupling phenomenon between Higgs and third-generation heavy quarks in this experimental data.
After all, this is reality, not an online novel or a science fiction movie, and not every effort will be rewarded.
If just a random collision experiment could discover a new particle or new results, how could there be so many mysteries in the physics world?
The Standard Model must have been completed a long time ago, and even dark matter and dark energy have been discovered long ago.
Spending several months like this without producing any useful results is the norm at CERN.
People tend to remember successful examples, but it is easy to ignore how many failures there are behind a success.
Just as the discovery of the Higgs particle shocked the world, the world will remember July 4, 2012, the day the Higgs particle was made public.
But who knows how many collision experiments CERN and other laboratories and research institutions conducted before the Higgs particle was discovered, and how many times the data were analyzed?
Thousands of times? Tens of thousands of times? Or maybe more?
This is an answer that no one can count.
Failure is the mother of success. This sentence is very reasonable when applied to the world of high-energy physics.
Through constant trial and error in practice, we can find the correct method or result. This is how CERN does it. This is how each particle is found, and this is how the Standard Model is improved.
(End of chapter)