Exotic hadrons, or physics, continue to amaze

CERN scientists confirm that experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, renamed the Large Hadron Beauty Collider (LHCb), have detected new particles known as "exotic hadrons". Their name stems from the fact that they cannot be deduced from the traditional quark model.

Hadrons are particles involved in strong interactions, such as those responsible for the bonds within an atomic nucleus. According to theories dating back to the 60s, they consist of quarks and antiquarks - mesons, or of three quarks - baryons. However, the particle found in LHCb, marked as Z (4430), does not correspond to the quark theory, since it can consist of four quarks.

The first traces of the exotic particle were discovered in 2008. However, it has only recently been possible to confirm that Z(4430) is a particle with a mass of 4430 MeV/c², which is about four times the proton mass (938 MeV/c²). Physicists have not yet suggested what the existence of exotic hadrons might mean.