Image: LHCb Collaboration/CERN

CMS and LHCb experiments reveal new rare particle decay

By analyzing their combined data the CMS and LHCb collaborations revealed the very rare decay of a B0s particle into two muon particles. The Standard Model, the theory that best describes the world of particles, predicts that this rare subatomic process happens about four times out of a billion decays, but it has never been seen before.

The data to be gathered in future runs of the LHC will increase the precision of the B0s measurement and will determine whether the possible hints of the related decay of the B0 are confirmed. These results will be crucial for disentangling any signs of new phenomena from Standard Model effects and will advance the hunt for new physics.