TOKYO -- Hopes are rising that a previously unknown particle has been discovered by the Large Hadron Collider, the particle accelerator that lies under the France-Switzerland border near Geneva. The LHC was the site of the discovery of the Higgs boson, for which the scientists who predicted its existence won the 2013 Nobel Prize in physics.
Data obtained from experiments conducted through last year indicates the possible existence of a new particle with roughly six times the mass of the Higgs boson. In tests this year -- which began in May -- the facility will try to determine whether or not the particle actually exists. While a number of theories have already emerged to explain the nature of this particle, its mere existence, if proven, could rewrite the existing standard theory of elementary particles.
