Astronomy Professor, Team Potentially Discover a 'Fifth Force' of Nature

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 30, 2016) — A University of Kentucky professor has co-authored a paper receiving national attention for potentially discovering a "fifth force" of nature.

Susan Gardner, professor of physics and atronomy in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, is one of seven authors of a paper that published in Physical Review Letters this month. Led by Jonathan Feng of University of California, Irvine, the study’s findings indicate the potential discovery of a previously unknown subatomic particle.

Scientists know of four fundamental forces in the universe: gravitation, electromagnetism, and strong and weak nuclear forces. But Gardner and her team posit that if confirmed by further experiments, the discovery of this possible fifth force could completely change the current understanding of the universe.

The team’s work followed on a recent study from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences which reported the observation of an experimental anomaly — and noted that it could be caused by a new subatomic particle. In order to make this compatible with existing experimental constraints, Gardner’s team is proposing the anomaly could be caused by a “protophobic gauge boson.” While normal electromagnetic force acts on electrons and protons, this newfound boson interacts appreciably, but weakly, with only electrons and neutrons — and at an extremely limited range. 

"There is much concrete evidence for dark matter that pervades the cosmos, but established theories cannot explain its existence,” Gardner said. “Presumably unknown interactions are at work, and it would be marvelous if we have finally discovered a piece to that puzzle. At the moment, however, the Hungarian experimental result should be checked, and we hope that it can be tested in the next few years.”

The study has gained attention from news organizations and science blogs around the nation and beyond.

The paper is titled “Particle Physics Models for the 17 MeV Anomaly in Beryllium Nuclear Decays.” In addition to Gardner, the authors includ Feng, Bartosz Fornal, Iftah Galon, Jordan Smolinsky and Tim M.P. Tait, all of University of California, Irvine; and Philip (Flip) Tanedo of the University of California, Riverside. 

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

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