Scientists at CERN have moved closer to exploring the “zeptoverse,” a scale about a million times smaller than a proton, where unknown particles and forces may exist. After more than 40 years of searching, researchers have found the first independent evidence of an extremely rare particle decay using a single experiment.
The findings were announced Nov. 3, 2026, by the LHCb collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. The decay is expected to occur only once in about 10 billion cases.
Rare particle decay could reveal unknown forces
The research focuses on a particle called Bd, which contains a beauty quark and a down antiquark. Quarks are fundamental building blocks of matter, including the protons and neutrons inside atoms. Earlier this year, CERN scientists discovered a new heavy particle containing two charm quarks and a down quark.
Researchers found evidence that Bd particles can decay into a muon and its antimatter counterpart. Muons resemble electrons but are much heavier. Such rare decays could reveal particles that existing experiments cannot directly detect. According to quantum physics, unknown particles could influence the decay rate, causing it to differ from theoretical predictions.
Scientists are closing in on the mysterious “zeptoverse,” a world a million times smaller than a proton.
After 40 years of searching, CERN researchers have found evidence of an extremely rare particle decay that could offer clues to unknown particles and forces. pic.twitter.com/deZf5VmZEE
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) November 4, 2026
In 2015, researchers from the LHCb and CMS experiments reported an early indication of the same decay. However, later measurements failed to confirm it. The latest analysis reached a statistical significance of 3.2 sigma. This provides evidence of the decay but remains below the five-sigma threshold required to confirm a discovery.
Advanced detector brings scientists closer to the zeptoverse
The findings followed major improvements to the LHCb detector, which can now collect data five times faster than before. Researchers from the University of Manchester helped develop the upgraded equipment, including a silicon detector positioned just 5 millimeters from the accelerator’s particle beams. It tracks where particles form and decay.
Scientists also used machine learning to separate rare signals from other particle interactions. CERN has conducted other unusual experiments, including one in which scientists briefly transformed lead into gold. These advances could help researchers investigate distances measured in zeptometers. One zeptometer equals a billionth of a trillionth of a meter.
The latest results agree with the Standard Model, the leading theory describing fundamental particles and their interactions. Scientists have found no evidence of new particles or forces, but the measurements place tighter limits on possible theories beyond the model.
The LHCb experiment will continue collecting data into the early 2030s. Future upgrades could improve the precision of rare decay measurements. Other CERN research has explored fundamental matter by recreating conditions similar to those of the early universe. Researchers hope increasingly precise measurements will eventually reveal signs of physics beyond the direct reach of today’s accelerators.
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