In the realm of particle physics, researchers from the Institute of High Energy Physics in China, including MingKuan Yuan, TianZi Song, and ZhengYun You, are delving into phenomena that could challenge our current understanding of the universe. Their recent work focuses on charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV), a process that, while forbidden in the Standard Model of particle physics, is predicted by various new physics models.
The Standard Model of particle physics has been remarkably successful in describing the fundamental particles and their interactions. However, it does not account for certain phenomena, such as the existence of dark matter or the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe. This is where CLFV comes into play. If observed, CLFV could hint at new physics beyond the Standard Model, potentially shedding light on these mysteries.
The researchers presented their searches for CLFV in charmonium decays using data collected by the BESIII detector. Charmonium is a type of meson made up of a charm quark and its antiquark. The processes they investigated were J/ψ→eτ, J/ψ→eμ, and ψ(3686)→eμ. The J/ψ and ψ(3686) are both types of charmonium particles.
No significant signals of CLFV were observed in these decays. However, the researchers were able to set upper limits on the branching fractions, which are the probabilities that these decays occur. These limits are as follows: B(J/ψ→eτ) < 7.5×10^-8, B(J/ψ→eμ) < 4.5×10^-9, and B(ψ(3686)→eμ) < 1.4×10^-8 at a 90% confidence level. These results provide valuable constraints on Wilson coefficients in effective field theory, a framework used to describe the effects of new physics at low energies. They also probe new physics at high energy scales, potentially offering insights into the fundamental workings of the universe. While this research may seem far removed from the energy industry, it is important to remember that our understanding of the fundamental particles and their interactions underpins much of modern technology. For instance, the development of nuclear energy and the design of more efficient solar panels both rely on a deep understanding of particle physics. Moreover, the search for new physics could potentially lead to the discovery of new energy sources or more efficient energy technologies. The research was published in the journal Physical Review Letters, a prestigious publication in the field of particle physics. While the results did not find evidence of CLFV, the search continues, and each new result brings us one step closer to unraveling the mysteries of the universe. This article is based on research available at arXiv.