sabine-hossenfelder 1 week ago
PhD in physics #Science

Atomic Anomaly Confirmed | Evidence for a Dark Force?

In 2020, a group of MIT researchers detected an anomaly in the nuclei of ytterbium atoms.

They said that the nuclei’s strange behavior might be indicative of a “dark force” caused by a currently-undiscovered mystery particle that might make up dark matter.


In 2020, the anomaly only had a significance of 3 sigma. But now, another group has confirmed it at a whopping 23 sigma!


What does that mean for physics?

Let’s find out.

Sabine Hossenfelder
PhD in physics