The recent announcement for the potential LHC realization of composite particle resonance of the pentaquark (or meson-baryon molecule) is interesting. This, along with a prior confirmation of the dimeson tetraquark Z(4430), and prognostications for hexaquarks (or dibaryons), expand the “zoo” of composite particles now numbering in the thousands.
If by chance we can use these new discoveries to discern the mathematical pattern (symmetry) well enough to predict the particle masses, lifetimes, branching ratios and CKM (quark) PMNS (neutrino) mixing matrix ratios – that would be COOL!
Yet, given the current size of this zoo of particles, it seems that adding a few more bags of quarks to the mix may not do the trick, but I am always hopeful.
IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion ;-)… it is more a task of “naming the animals”.
or in Ernest Rutherford’s words:
“All science is either physics or stamp collecting.”
“The pentaquark search may be physics’ version of ‘stamp collecting'”. JGM
Hexaqark with “Physics” shapes:
Decays:
My attempt to organize the stamp collection of chemistry into a 4D periodic table:
