But almost every particle physics conference has sessions just like this, except they do it with more maths. Talk to particle physicists in private, and many of them will admit they do not actually believe those particles exist. Experimental particle physicists know of the problem, and try to distance themselves from what their colleagues in theory development do. There are many factors that have contributed to this sad decline of particle physics. Each time an anomaly is reported, particle physicists will quickly write hundreds of papers about how new particles allegedly explain the observation.

Source: The Guardian September 27, 2022 09:31 UTC