‘Extraordinary’ W boson particle finding contradicts understanding of how universe works

New measurement of fundamental particle of physics after decade-long study challenges theoretical rulebook in scientific mystery'

After a decade of meticulous measurements, scientists have announced that a fundamental particle - the W boson - has a significantly greater mass than theorised, shaking the foundations of our understanding of how the universe works.

Those foundations are grounded by the standard model of particle physics, which is the best theory scientists have to describe the most basic building blocks of the universe, and what forces govern them.