Double-charm tetraquark

Last updated
Double-charm tetraquark
Quark structure double-charm tetraquark.svg
Classification meson
Composition 2 charm quarks
1 up antiquark
1 down antiquark
Statistics bosonic
Family hadron
Mass 3868±124  MeV/c2 [1]
Mean lifetime 1.35+0.31
−0.21
×10−21 s
[1]
Electric charge +1
Spin 1+ [1]
Isospin 0 [2]

The double-charm tetraquark (T+
cc
, ccud) is a type of long-lived tetraquark that was discovered in 2021 in the LHCb experiment conducted at the Large Hadron Collider. [3] [4] [2] [5] It contains four quarks: two charm quarks, an anti-up and an anti-down quark. [1]

It has a theoretical computed mass of 3868±124 MeV/c2. [1] The discovery showed an exceptionally strong peak, with 20-sigma significance. [6]

It is hypothesized that studying the behavior of the double-charm tetraquark may play a part in explaining the behavior of the strong force. [7] Following the discovery of the T+
cc
, researchers now plan experiments to find its double-beauty counterpart Tbb. [8] This tetraquark has been found to have a longer lifespan than most known exotic-matter particles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Agaev, S.S.; Azizi, K.; Sundu, H. (February 2022). "Newly observed exotic doubly charmed meson ". Nuclear Physics B. 975 115650. arXiv: 2108.00188 . doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2022.115650. S2CID   236772263.
  2. 1 2 Aaij, R.; Abdelmotteleb, A. S. W.; Abellán Beteta, C.; Abudinen Gallego, F. J.; Ackernley, T.; Adeva, B.; Adinolfi, M.; Afsharnia, H.; Agapopoulou, C.; Aidala, C. A.; Aiola, S. (2022-06-16). "Observation of an exotic narrow doubly charmed tetraquark". Nature Physics. 18 (7): 751–754. arXiv: 2109.01038 . Bibcode:2022NatPh..18..751L. doi:10.1038/s41567-022-01614-y. ISSN   1745-2481. S2CID   237385202.
  3. "What to Know About the Newly Discovered Tetraquark at the Large Hadron Collider". Gizmodo. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  4. "Twice the charm: long-lived exotic particle discovered". CERN. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  5. Aaij, R.; Abdelmotteleb, A. S. W.; Beteta, C. Abellán; Gallego, F. J. Abudinen; Ackernley, T.; Adeva, B.; Adinolfi, M.; Afsharnia, H.; Agapopoulou, C.; Aidala, C. A.; Aiola, S. (2022-06-16). "Study of the doubly charmed tetraquark T⁺_cc". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 3351. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-30206-w. ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   9203551 . PMID   35710739.
  6. "LHCb experiment spots extraordinary double charmed tetraquark". Nikhef. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  7. Wood, Charlie (2021-09-27). "'Impossible' Particle Discovery Adds Key Piece to the Strong Force Puzzle". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  8. Turner, Ben (2021-08-05). "New 'doubly charming' particle could help unlock the secrets of how matter is built". livescience.com. Retrieved 2021-09-27.