New Tetraquark Particle Found At Fermilab

Physics





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Illustration of a Tetraquark. Fermilab

Scientists have found an incredible new particle that's part of the exotic family of tetraquarks. Tetraquarks are made of four quarks, which makes them quite unique. Most particles in nature are made by either three quarks (like protons and neutrons) or just two.

The particle, called X(5568), was discovered thanks to Fermilab’s Tevatron particle accelerator. It has a mass of almost six protons and it is the first tetraquark to be made by four different types of quarks. A paper with the results is available on arXiv.