Fifth Force

No, this is not a Star Wars episode. It's about a truly fascinating theory that there is a fifth fundamental physical force. As you might know, there are four fundamental physical forces recognized by physicists: Gravity, Electromagnetism, the Strong Nuclear, and the Weak Nuclear. What this new theory proposes is that there is a fifth force that's connected with a hidden new particle.

This is yet another concept to explain dark matter and energy, the elusive phenomena that explains cosmological observations about our universe. However, this has a unique and interesting twist.

Physicists at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences came up with the idea when they were trying to find a so-called dark photon, which is another candidate for the dark matter. A dark photon would neither absorb nor emit light, which is why it would be so hard to see. Such a mysterious particle would have to be discovered indirectly. What the Hungarians did find is a particle that's 30 times heavier than an electron, which is not very massive to start with.

Jonathan Feng, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine has taken the Hungarian published paper and did more experiments that suggested something different, namely a photophobic X boson. That's a really crazy name. However, this new particle would be associated with a fifth fundamental force of nature. That's exciting!

The electromagnetic force acts on photons and electrons at long distances because they're charged. This new particle interacts with neutrons and electrons at short distances, making it completely unusual as particles go. No other boson does this, which is why it's designated as a x-boson, the x standing for unknown.

This is a conclusion from collider experiments.

This new force and its associated particle might be linked to a parallel dark sector with its own matter and forces. This is the idea of the dark force of Star Wars. Or, it's what dark matter and energy are made of. One thing that must be worked out is how the dark sector interacts with the light sector. It may be through some hidden but fundamental action that is yet to be discovered. All this says is that the universe is becoming stranger with each new discovery.

My take on this is that this is only a preliminary theory that needs lots of work, which I am sure will be forthcoming. All I can say is; It makes science amazing!

Thanks for reading.