In the office, Liu Gaojun looked at Xu Chuan with a confused expression.
He doesn't understand! I really don’t understand!
Even though he was an educator, the principal of a strong C9 school, and he also studied science, he really didn't understand what the two were communicating.
I only know that it seems to be related to CERN in Europe, as well as neutrinos, dark matter, etc. Could it be that Professor Xu discovered a new particle? Or, has dark matter been discovered?
Thinking about it, Liu Gaojun's heartbeat skipped half a beat. If this were true, that would be incredible!
On the opposite side, after listening to Xu Chuan's evidence, Chen Zhengping fell into deep thought.
It has to be said that after listening to this, the mysterious particle in his mind that has not yet been confirmed has begun to unconsciously shift towards the sterile neutrino.
What his student said does make sense, and is completely tenable in theory.
But to be honest, he still couldn't believe that this was a sterile neutrino.
What are sterile neutrinos?
According to current physical assumptions, sterile neutrinos are particles that constitute dark matter.
But can the detectors currently manufactured by human technology really detect traces of dark matter?
He had reservations about it.
After all, it has been a while since the LHC was upgraded in 2015, but I have never heard of CERN discovering traces of dark matter.
Regarding this question, Xu Chuan smiled and replied: "What if sterile neutrinos are not dark matter in the traditional sense?"
Hearing this answer, Chen Zhengping's pupils shrank, opened his mouth, and asked: "It's not dark matter in the traditional sense. What do you mean?"
"Literally."
Xu Chuan smiled and replied: "In my analysis and speculation, there is a high probability that sterile neutrinos are not dark matter, or in other words, they are not dark matter as currently defined by the physics community."
"In my opinion, it should be some of the particles released when dark matter particles are formed."
"Just like neutrinos, traditional neutrinos do not exist in the nucleus of atoms. They are just particles with zero rest mass, electrical neutrality, and different from photons produced during the decay of atoms."
"The sterile neutrino also has the possibility that it may be an incidental particle produced by dark matter or the decay of the Higgs field."
"This kind of particle, like neutrinos, is different from dark matter and traditional matter to a certain extent. Traditional neutrinos are difficult to observe because of their unique properties, while sterile neutrinos can be detected because of that slight difference. Observed by traditional detectors ”
"It is precisely because of this that" the Dalitz diagram drawn from the experimental data collected by the ALICE detector is very strange. It does not show all its energy levels, resonance states, kinematic variables and other information, but It is like a shadow or an appearance. ”
"This just shows that the sterile neutrino is likely to be just a particle with some properties of dark matter. It is a new form of particle in an intermediate state between dark matter and conventional particles."
"In other words, it has the properties of both dark matter and regular matter, so we can observe it through the ALICE detector."
Hearing this, Chen Zhengping nodded in agreement. Judging from the analysis data and Dalitz diagram sent to him by Xu Chuan, it indeed fits these characteristics.
After thinking for a while, he asked: "Is there any feedback from CERN?"
Xu Chuan shook his head and said: "Not yet, just wait two days. If there is no news, I will call Professor Witten and ask."
As soon as he finished speaking, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
The caller ID showed the person he had just spoken to, Professor Edward Witten.
"Hey, Xu Chuan, where are you? Can you come to CERN?" When the call was connected, Witten asked directly.
Xu Chuan shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, mentor, I'm afraid I won't be able to get through there."
Witten quickly said without hesitation: "Well, give me your address and I will come find you."
"Well, tutor, just come to Nanda directly. I'll wait for you here." Xu Chuan thought for a while and replied.
"Okay."
Witten nodded, and then hung up the phone without further chatting. Xu Chuan didn't have any questions. Coming to see him at this time must be related to the analysis results he sent before.
The stakes are so high that CERN may not be able to sit still.
After hanging up the phone, Xu Chuan turned to look at the president of NTU and said: "Principal, I'm afraid I'm going to trouble NTU in two days. A press conference may be held at NTU."
< br>
Liu Gaojun said with a smile: "How can this be called trouble? It is an honor for NTU to hold this kind of press conference."
Although he didn't know exactly what the results of Xu Chuan's research were, he did understand unknown new particles and dark matter.
A press conference involving these things will definitely cause a huge sensation in the physics community and even the scientific community.
As the host of the press conference, NTU will also gain a huge reputation.
With this kind of press conference, any school would just hope that the more the merrier.
What Xu Chuan didn't expect was that the day after Edward Witten made the call, he rushed to NTU with people from CERN.
In a reception room at NTU, Xu Chuan met the visitors this time, Edward Witten, David Gross, Arthur MacDonald, Francois Engler, and Yoichiro Nanbu.
Edward Witten will not introduce much. He is the only person to win the Fields Medal as a physicist, and David Gross is the current president of the CERN Board of Directors.
As for Arthur McDonald, Francois Engler, Yoichiro Nanbu and others, they are either top experts in the field of particle physics or theoretical physics.
Moreover, except for Edward Witten, all of the people who came to participate in this exchange have won the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Such a communication lineup is extremely luxurious for an analysis data that has not yet been confirmed and has a confidence level of only 3sigma.
"Professor Xu, long time no see."
In the reception room, David Gross came forward to say hello with a smile, and also sighed.
When Xu Chuan followed Edward Witten to CERN to study experiments, he was very optimistic and believed that this young man would definitely be able to make some achievements in the future.
I just didn't expect that in just three or four years, the other party would already be at the pinnacle of the physics world and even the science world.
Nobel Prize, Fields Medal, Crafford Medal. A series of honors added to a boy in his twenties is simply unimaginable.
"Mr. Chairman." Xu Chuan greeted with a smile. He did not call Professor Gross, but Mr. Chairman, which showed that he was still a researcher at CERN.
Sure enough, after hearing this title, the smile on David Gross's face became even brighter: "We have already seen the data analysis you sent a few days ago, and this is what we are here for today."
Xu Chuan nodded and asked: "I wonder if the council will agree to continue to open the LHC and repeat the experiment to collect more data?" David Gross smiled and said: "This is exactly the purpose of our coming here."
"Although you have listed the analytical data and Darize diagram in detail in your email, CERN still has many doubts. If you can answer these doubts, CERN will hold a press conference in China. While disclosing this new discovery, we will launch subsequent collision experiments and conduct special research.”
After a pause, the CERN chairman continued: "Of course, the premise is that you have to convince us today."
"After all, your discovery is so great. If the verification is successful, it will not only be the first time to find a new type of particle beyond the standard model, but also break the record. It will also tear open the veil of dark matter for the first time. Let us see the world hidden behind the chaos! ”
Xu Chuan asked with a smile: "I wonder what doubts CERN has about this data analysis and Darize diagram?"
David Gross glanced at everyone in the reception room, his eyes fell on Chen Zhengping who was attending the meeting, and asked: "Professor Chen, could you please arrange a conference room with projection equipment in your school?"
Chen Zhengping, who accompanied the exchange as a representative of NTU, nodded and said: "Of course, NTU has been prepared for a long time. Please come with me."
The group got up and followed Chen Zhengping to a conference room. David Gross opened the notebook he carried with him and connected it to the projection equipment.
What was projected on the silver-white curtain was the data and Dalitz chart analyzed by Xu Chuan.
After turning on the projection, David Gross, the chairman of CERN, said solemnly: "Next, we will conduct the CERN - 2018 ALICE detector 13Tev energy level collision experiment - sterile neutrino report meeting .”
"The speaker of the meeting is Professor Xu Chuan, a Chinese scholar."
"This report will take a special form, and the participants will be David Gross, Edward Witten, Arthur MacDonald, Francois Engler, representative members of the CERN Board of Directors. The above representatives will replace the CERN directors. The committee will have full authority to decide on the findings of this report and make decisions on subsequent research.”
"."
At first, Xu Chuan thought this was just an ordinary exchange meeting. It was not until David Gross spoke that he realized that this exchange meeting was so formal.
Well, this should not be called an exchange meeting, but a report meeting.
He was the speaker, and there were less than ten people in the audience. It could be said to be the smallest but most valuable lecture in the world.
After briefly describing the process of this small report meeting, David Gross looked at Xu Chuan.
Xu Chuan nodded, stood up and walked to the projection screen.
Looking at the people sitting in the conference room, he took a deep breath and said calmly: "I am honored to be standing here today to give this report."
"At the end of 2018, I accidentally learned that the LHC had conducted a 13Tev energy level collision experiment to simulate the Big Bang scene. I was very interested in this and contacted CERN to request a collision. Analyze the original data of the collision experiment in the hope of discovering some new things or phenomena. ”
"Here I would like to thank CERN and my alma mater, NTU, for their support. It is precisely because of their help that this discovery was made."
After briefly introducing the background of this discovery and thanking CERN and his alma mater for their help as usual, Xu Chuan knew that the big guys in the audience were not interested in this, so he quickly got to the point.
As he spoke, he clicked the laser pointer in his hand, and the home page on the projection screen was opened, revealing the text inside.
"While analyzing this collision data, I accidentally discovered that in the data of the ALICE detector, in the 120um (rφ direction) beam z observation data of the antihelium-3 nucleus of the inner tracking system, unexpected A quantum drop signal data appeared. ”
"At first, I thought this was just an ordinary quantum fluctuation or background clutter, but with analysis, I also found this phenomenon in another piece of data."
"So, through searching and checking through the data model, I confirmed that there is a phenomenon unknown in the current physical world in the 120um (rφ direction) beam z observation data of the anti-helium-3 nucleus of the internal tracking system."
Xu Chuan did not waste a lot of time on the things in these report documents. Xu Chuan knew what the big guys in the audience really wanted, so he simply passed the report directly.
"My report is complete. If you have any doubts, you can raise them now. I will do my best to answer your questions."
As soon as he finished speaking, a hand was raised beside the conference table.
Xu Chuan looked over and saw that the person raising his hand was Professor Arthur McDonald, who won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for the discovery of neutrino oscillations.
Nodding, he stretched out his hand to signal the big man to ask questions.
Professor Arthur McDonald stood up, looked directly at Xu Chuan, and asked: "According to the comprehensive analysis of currently available observational data in the physics community, the main component of dark matter should not be any known microscopic elementary particles. It is only Participate in gravitational interactions and weak photon interactions.”
"In this respect."
As soon as Professor Arthur McDonald opened his mouth, Xu Chuan knew what he wanted to say.
This is one of the questions raised by Chen Zhengping yesterday, and it is also some speculation that he did not include in the report document. However, the details of Professor McDonald's question were different. He raised it from the perspective of the four fundamental forces.
Waiting for the other party to finish speaking, Xu Chuan put a smile on his face: "Theoretically"
In the conference room, Xu Chuan answered some doubts in the minds of several experts.
This report meeting started at nine o'clock in the morning and lasted until eleven o'clock in the afternoon. The focus is not on the content report in the first half, but on the discussion and exchange in the second half.
Especially when Xu Chuan proposed that sterile neutrinos may not belong to dark matter, but are a kind of intermediate between dark matter and regular matter, the entire conference room was filled with astonishment.
This was not mentioned in that important data analysis report.
Several people present were quite interested in his statement.
After the lecture, Professor Francois Engler, who had a white beard and a smile that looked like Santa Claus, stood up, patted Xu Chuan on the shoulder, and said with a smile:
"This is a discovery that shocked the world. I now believe that the mysterious particle is a sterile neutrino! We have great hope to use this to unlock a corner of the mysterious dark matter!"
On the sidelines, David Gross, Chairman of the CERN Council, smiled and said: "This is a very satisfactory exchange. According to the final statement, CERN will update the arrangement of collision experiments in the second half of this year."
Hearing this, Xu Chuan showed a smile on his face, which was exactly what he said he expected.
As long as there are more collision experiments, more data can be harvested, thereby increasing the confidence and thoroughly confirming the existence of sterile neutrinos.
Just as he was about to say something, he heard Gross continue: "You know, CERN has held many meetings before coming here. Although your discovery is very important, at first the council was only planning to arrange two to two meetings in the second half of the year. Three collisions”
"After all, many people think that this may just be some unknown phenomenon or some undiscovered new particle. Dark matter can be observed. This is really incredible for the current observation methods. It can be said to be completely incredible. Possible things.”
"But today, you convinced us all!"
"After we go back, we will reconvene the board of directors, and we will convince others. In the second half of this year, the LHC will make every effort to capture this mysterious particle, collect more data, and find it as quickly as possible!"
"If nothing else happens, this may be the greatest and most important new discovery after the Higgs particle!"
ps: I feel like there was something wrong with yesterday’s and today’s chapters. Yesterday’s explanations should have been put into today’s post. It’s more fun to pretend to be bi in front of the Nobel laureates. I’ll revise them after this month is over (I can’t do that now) Changes, large-scale changes will definitely delete the number of chapters, thus affecting the full attendance)