Physics - The Era of Anomalies

Physics - The Era of Anomalies

The age of anomalies

Betting against the standard model of particle physics is like most gambling: the house always wins. And the standard model usually smothers hints of contradictory experimental results. When anomalies occur — except for marvellous exceptions like the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 — most turn out to be flukes. But that doesn’t stop physicists from chasing clues that could point to what is beyond the standard model. “We think there should be more to life than just what the standard model can predict,” says physicist Chris Polly.

APS Physics | 9 min read