CMS and LHCb experiments reveal new rare particle decay
Event displays of a candidate B0s particle decaying into two muons in the CMS detector (left - Image: CMS/CERN) and in the LHCb detector (right - Image: CMS/CERN). Geneva, 13 May 2015. In an article , the CMS and LHCb collaborations describe the first observation of the very rare decay of the 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. These decays are studied as they could open a window to theories beyond the Standard Model, such as supersymmetry. The analysis is based on data taken at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2011 and 2012. These data also contain early hints of a similar, but even more rare decay into two muons of the B0, a cousin of the B0s.
