Results from the new study suggest that symmetry, once thought to be a constant, can break down under certain conditions. This finding can reshape our understanding of the strong nuclear force, a force that governs everything from the behavior of particles inside atomic nuclei to the formation of matter across the universe.
An experiment that defies symmetry
To test whether certain symmetries in physics really hold up, the researchers conducted an interesting experiment at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia. They used a high-energy beam of electrons and fired it at protons and deuterons (a hydrogen isotope).
This allowed them to observe how quarks, the tiny building blocks inside protons and neutrons (inside the deuteron), behave when struck. The technique the scientists used is called semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (or SIDIS). In simple terms, it’s a way to knock loose a quark and then study what kind of particle it turns into afterward.