A University of California Irvine press release promotes research into the decay of an isomer of the short-lived radioisotope beryllium-8.
Noting that
a 6.8σ anomaly has been reported in the opening angle and invariant mass distributions of e+ e- pairs produced in 8Be nuclear transitions,
physicists propose "a 17 MeV protophobic gauge boson" (for comparison, an electron's mass is 0.51 MeV) to explain the observations, saying that the particle's existence could also account for a "discrepancy in the muon anomalous magnetic moment." The force conveyed by the particle is believed to only affect electrons and neutrons, and only at short distances.
further information:
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday August 17 2016, @06:21PM
Chinese and Russian physicists rush to update hypersonic proton torpedoes, then remember that they probably have at least 15 years of delays, Congress reviews, and giant cost overruns before it gets deployed.