The TOTEM experiment at the LHC has just confirmed that, at high energy, protons behave as if they were becoming larger. In more technical terms, their total cross-section – a parameter linked to the proton-proton interaction probability – increases with energy. This phenomenon, expected from previous measurements performed at much lower energy, has now been confirmed for the first time at the LHC’s unprecedented energy.
A composite particle like the proton is a complex system that in no way resembles a static Lego construction: sub-components move inside and interactions keep the whole thing together, but in a very dynamic way. This partly explains why even the very common proton can still be hiding secrets about its nature, decades after its discovery.
One way of studying the inner properties of the protons is to observe how they interact with each other, which, in technical terms, implies calculating the total cross-section of the proton-proton interactions. Early measurements at the CERN ISR surprisingly showed that the cross-section increases when the energy increases. This was then confirmed by the CERN SppS Collider and the Tevatron. But this is the first time that the trend has been confirmed at the highest energy, that of the LHC. “TOTEM’s result of (98 ± 3) mbarn for the total cross-section confirms that, even at the so far unexplored energy of the LHC, the proton behaves as if it were becoming larger”, says Karsten Eggert, spokesperson of the TOTEM collaboration.
Measuring the proton-proton total cross-section is not a trivial exercise. “We requested a special run of the LHC”, explains Eggert. “The beam divergence in the proximity of the interaction points in the machine had to be much smaller than in standard LHC operation. In only thirty minutes of data taking with this special beam configuration TOTEM collected sufficient data to measure the elastic proton-proton scattering cross-section, which ,made it possible to determine the total cross-section by using the so-called optical theorem” .
From the CERN Bulletin
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Woohoo! I submitted my thesis before this was out but the result is going into the corrected version I am sure! This is what so many people have been waiting for…excellent!
This may be a naive question, but what physical mechanism is responsible for this effect? The only thing I can think of is that some of the energy used to accelerate the proton goes into making the quarks move more rapidly relative to one another – effectively increasing the “temperature” of the composite system. But I imagine that is way off beam (as it were).
The protons are accelerated by radio waves; and since the protons are made of charged quarks, possibly the electric field component is accelerating the quarks?
A model of quarks as 3 pairs of charged “spheres” aka units connected by string stretched from the rings that make up the units is proposed in a the mnp Model described at http://www.worldlyte.com/physics/mnp
The mnp Model pictures quarks not as stable structures themselves, but as semi-stable units created when the stable nucleon of 18 units connected by 9 strings is pulled apart. Quark units and their connectors (and electrons in shells) recruit mediators (aka m-figments that make up “photons” and lead to magnetism and charge effects) to flow over the surface and act as glue at the connection between string and “sphere.” The “charge” or “structure” recruits only a certain amount of mediators/m-figments per unit area (or only to a certain depth on the surface).
At relativistic speed, the mnp Unified Model predicts the surface of those “spheres” lengthens from the point of view of the mediators traveling at light speed, so more mediators/m-figments cover the surface from the point of view of the reference frame. The reference frame sees (and would experience, if it stood in front of the unit) an increase in mass. This increase in mass is not based on the rest mass of the proton, but the rest mass minus the mass of 3 electrons or positrons at rest.
The mnp Model does not yet explain why units 1/6 the charge of electrons and positrons would be almost stable nor why spheroids of charge would be stable at the size of electrons and positrons, but it provides a model of interaction that could lead to such discoveries.
A simpler sketch of the high level results of the mnp Unified Model, merely hinting at the low level structure, is at http://www.worldlyte.com/physics/mnp/unification.pdf
The concepts described therein propose to unify Quantum Mechanics and Relativity. Many interactions and structures become simpler or easier to imagine. The model also provides a picture of gravity as stochastic; all three basic entities act as gravitons. Gravitational calculations at an astronomic scale become astronomically more complicated.
The author has strong ties to the physics community, but is not a professional physicist.
In whimsical moments, he suggests calling the high level results “Ring Theory”. In deference to mathematics and the pictorial nature of the proposals, “The Ring Model” might be a better term.
The high level images grew out of the thought experiment that became the mnp Model. “What if ALL interactions including gravity were local?” “What would it take for charge to work”, followed by “what would it take for a moving charge to create a magnetic field and an oscillating charge a photon” Throw in “if all the units travel at the speed of light, how is it that photon parts don’t wander” and “how would ‘charge’ units stay in one place instead of all flying off.” This last question is answered by rings on one charge paired with rings of another charge rotating the opposite direction (neutrinos and string) and rings on one charge all rotating the same direction covering some closed surface like a sphere (Electrons, positrons, and quark units).
During the last few years, and in repeated within the last few months, it was suggested that when accelerated particles reach a substential fraction of c, no matter what particles we are accelerating, particle elastic deformation would be observed.
WHY? because particles are themselves a continuum of ultra-high density fluid / plasma, that temprorarily deforms and yields. Initially deformation is “elastic”, when subjected to ultra-high accelerating magnetic fields in LHC tunnels. If we gradually continue to accelerate protons, “pull-force” of the accelerating magnetic field acting on the particle gradually dilates the particle’s geometric shape taking spheroidized or ellipsoidized or even skewed parabolic / hyperbolic spheroidal shape only from one side of the particle (pull-side). Particle’s original shape facing the direction of magnetic pull-force would confront gigantic shear stresses on the outer layers and shells of the particle which cause frontal-face dilation of the proton and which is observed as proton-proton cross-sectional increase that TOTEM has finally confirmed.
If we continue accelerating particles further, at some point before or after reaching speed of light, plastic deformations could also occur. Not surprisingly, what this would mean when we reach there, that we possibly could detect formation of new form of quarks, with new masses, and new charges, which we could call quarkons, and hence newer unknown form of protons that we could call prokons. Quarkons and Prokons would necessarily uncover a vast train of particles that whatever we do with them, will lead to our undiscovered knowledge of the ultra-dense fluidity of protons and all subsequent matter.
Possibly related to Einstein’s relatively calculations about mass becoming infinite at the speed of light. Not an instantaneous event but as shown graphically an exponential driven change…