Physicists observe subatomic quick-change artist

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The figure shows the CDF measurement of the Bs oscillation frequency at 2.8 trillion times per second. The analysis is designed such that possible oscillation frequencies have an amplitude consistent with 1.0 while those not present in the data will ...
The figure shows the CDF measurement of the B_s oscillation frequency at 2.8 trillion times per second. The analysis is designed such that possible oscillation frequencies have an amplitude consistent with 1.0 while those not present in the data will have an amplitude consistent with zero. Image courtesy CDF collaboration.

It's taken 19 long years of painstaking, high-precision experiments, but it's finally official: Physicists have announced the observation of a subatomic particle known as the Bs (pronounced "B sub s") meson switching between matter and antimatter states at a mind-boggling 3 trillion times per second.


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