Lesson plan
Oops-Leon
–positron pairs as a function of invariant mass (in GeV/c 2 ). The apparent peak around was initially identified as a new particle, but named Oops-Leon when it turned out not to exist. Oops-Leon is the name given by particle physicists to what was thought to be a new subatomic particle "discovered" at Fermilab in 1976. The E288 experiment team, a group of physicists led by Leon Lederman who worked on the E288 particle detector, announced that a particle with a mass of about , which decayed into an electron and a positron, was being produced by the Fermilab particle accelerator. The particle's initial name was the Greek letter Upsilon ( ). After taking further data, the group discovered that this particle did not exist, and the "discovery" was named "Oops-Leon" as a pun on the original name and the first name of the E288 collaboration leader. The original publication was based on an apparent peak (resonance) in a histogram of the invariant mass of electron-positron pairs produced by protons colliding with a stationary beryllium target, implying the existence of a particle with a mass of which was being produced and decaying into two leptons. An analysis showed that there was "less than one chance in fifty" that the apparent resonance was simply the result of a coincidence.…
Article summary
–positron pairs as a function of invariant mass (in GeV/c 2 ). The apparent peak around was initially identified as a new particle, but named Oops-Leon when it turned out not to exist. Oops-Leon is the name given by particle physicists to what was thought to be a new subatomic particle "discovered" at Fermilab in 1976. The E288 experiment team, a group of physicists led by Leon Lederman who worked on the E288 particle detector, announced that a particle with a mass of about , which decayed into an electron and a positron, was being produced by the Fermilab particle accelerator. The particle's initial name was the Greek letter Upsilon ( ). After taking further data, the group discovered that this particle did not exist, and the "discovery" was named "Oops-Leon" as a pun on the original name and the first name of the E288 collaboration leader. The original publication was based on an apparent peak (resonance) in a histogram of the invariant mass of electron-positron pairs produced by protons colliding with a stationary beryllium target, implying the existence of a particle with a mass of which was being produced and decaying into two leptons. An analysis showed that there was "less than one chance in fifty" that the apparent resonance was simply the result of a coincidence.…
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.