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We all love it when the unexpected happens in physics – which is why there was big excitement this week as hints emerged from CERN of a hypothetical particle called a leptoquark.   The signs appeared when particle physicists on the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider saw an unexpected difference in how beauty quarks decay.   The measurement was made at a statistical significance of 3.1σ – well below the 5σ level that's usually considered a discovery. But, if confirmed, the finding could point to "new physics" beyond the Standard Model. Hamish Johnston, online editor, Physics World

THIS WEEK'S HEADLINES

Astronomy and space, Physics | Research update New black hole image reveals magnetic fields Event Horizon Telescope measures light polarization near supermassive black hole Astronomy and space, Mathematics and computation | Research update New imaging algorithm can spot fast-moving and rotating space junk Technology could help prevent damage to satellites Particles and interactions | Research update Has a new particle called a 'leptoquark' been spotted at CERN? Beauty-quark decays measured by LHCb suggest that the Standard Model may be violated Quantum mechanics | Research update Quantum mechanics gives new insights into the Gibbs paradox Quantum effects allow more work to be extracted from a system than would be expected in a classical world Nanomedicine | Research update Nanoparticle-based vaccine offers new approach to COVID-19 immunity Building a vaccine from nanoparticles increases stability without losing efficacy Diagnostic imaging | Research update Technology advances improve imaging for paediatric patients Speakers at the European Congress of Radiology described new techniques for easier MR imaging and lower-dose scanning of children

EXPLORE MORE

Materials, Publishing | Podcast Finding silicon's Holy Grail at long last, how to recognize and prevent 'publication misconduct' We also talk about that new particle at CERN in this week's podcast Environmental policy | News UK researchers decry 'shameful' cuts to international support fund Open letter warns of damage caused by reductions to official development assistance grants Environment and energy, Nuclear power | Careers Switching career from particle physics to nuclear power Troels Schönfeldt talks about his career change from particle physics to co-founder and chief executive of Seaborg Technologies Culture, history and society | Opinion and reviews Standing up for science in difficult times Caitlin Duffy says that scientists have a duty to speak up and challenge misinformation

OUR LATEST WEBINARS You can explore our full selection of webinars on our website.

Materials, Sponsored | Webinar Physics of dopant emission to harness the rainbow emission of nanocrystals Join the audience for a live webinar on 14 April 2021 sponsored by Hiden Analytical, in partnership with The Electrochemical Society Medical physics, Sponsored | Webinar End-to-End QA with the QUASAR™ Multi-Purpose Body Phantom: TPS and SBRT Join the audience for a live webinar on 8 April 2021 sponsored by Modus QA

INNOVATION SHOWCASES You can explore our full selection of innovation showcases on our website.

A new approach to Hall measurement Innovative Hall measurement technique delivers faster, more accurate results with the M91 FastHall measurement controller from Lake Shore Cryotronics. This video highlights the MeasureReady M91 FastHall, a revolutionary, all-in-one Hall analysis instrument that delivers significantly higher levels of precision, speed, and convenience to researchers involved in the study of electronic materials.

Novel AFM mode enables electrochemical mapping for battery research The NX range of atomic force microscopes (AFMs) from Park Systems now supports scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM), a new pipette-based nanoelectrochemical scanning probe technique for investigating the local electrochemical properties of electrode surfaces. For the first time this technique is allowing scientists studying electrocatalysis and energy storage to correlate electrochemical activity with the nanostructure of electrochemical interfaces. In one recent study, the SECCM mode of the Park NX12 system was used to study an electrochemically reversible redox process at a highly ordered surface of pyrolytic graphite (HOPG).

VACANCIES FROM PHYSICS WORLD JOBS

Research Associate, US Research Fellow in Experimental AMO Physics – Magnetic Confinement of Deuterium Atoms, UK Research Fellow in Experimental AMO Physics – Rydberg Atom Magnetometry, UK Data Scientist/Software Developer, UK Key Account Manager, Germany Senior and Junior Scientist High-Energy Density Physics (IV-82), Czech Republic Theoretical/Applied Physicist (RF Physics), UK Postdoc – Pixelated Semiconductor Sensors, France PhD Fellowship in Physics, Germany SRF Engineer, Sweden

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