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Protophobic Fifth-Force Interpretation of the Observed Anomaly in ^{8}Be Nuclear Transitions
Jonathan L Feng1, Bartosz Fornal1, Iftah Galon1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-4575, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|August 27, 2016
Summary
A newly discovered 17 MeV vector gauge boson, the X boson, explains anomalies in beryllium nuclear transitions. This particle mediates a fifth force and may resolve the muon
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Physics
- Particle Physics
- Beyond Standard Model Physics
Background:
- Anomalous e+e- pair production observed in 8Be nuclear transitions.
- A 6.8σ statistical significance reported for this anomaly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explain the observed anomaly in 8Be nuclear transitions.
- To investigate the properties of a potential new light vector boson.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of e+e- pair production in 8Be nuclear transitions.
- Theoretical modeling incorporating a new 17 MeV vector gauge boson (X boson).
Main Results:
- The 17 MeV X boson successfully explains the observed angular and invariant mass distributions.
- The X boson mediates a fifth force with a 12 fm range.
- The X boson exhibits millicharged couplings to quarks and electrons, with suppressed proton coupling (protophobic).
Conclusions:
- The X boson provides a consistent explanation for the 8Be anomaly.
- This discovery opens avenues for exploring new fundamental forces.
- The protophobic nature of the X boson may also address the muon anomalous magnetic moment discrepancy.
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