Particle Physicas

Strange ice formations may have tricked physicists into seeing mysterious particles that weren't there

By Rafi Letzter - Staff Writer 9 hours ago

What if one of the strangest, most unsettling findings in particle physics turned out to be an illusion?Comments (0)

Researchers prepare to launch the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, which picked up signals of impossible-seeming particles as it dangled from its balloon over Antarctica.

(Image: © NASA)

What if one of the strangest, most unsettling findings in particle physics turned out to be an illusion?

Since March 2016, two mysterious signals from Antarctica have baffled researchers. Twice now, a high-energy particle has seemed to burst straight up out of the ice, tripping detectors on a balloon-borne experiment floating overhead. It's as if the particles had passed through the entire Earth unscathed. But that should be all but impossible: None of the known particles, which collectively are described in a physics model known as the Standard Model, can make that trip at high-energy levels./.../