The mission OSIRIS-REx of the JAR revealed clues that reopen a mystery of modern physics: the possible existence of a fifth force. Remember that only four are currently known: gravity, electromagnetism, strong force and weak force.
The fifth phenomenon could be discovered through the study of an asteroid. The last one, in addition to containing organic compounds of great antiquitythis is the key rethink the fundamental laws of the universe.
An asteroid and the key clue that could change the laws of physics
Since 1999, the asteroid Bennu It is an object of great interest for science. With barely 500 meters wide and a rocky surfacethis small body is considered a time capsule, containing elements that could date back to the formation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
Since then, Bennu has been the target of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, whose goal was to collect and bring samples of its surface for analysis to Earth.
The study of the Bennu data is of particular importance to scientists exploring the hypothesis of a fifth fundamental force. Currently, physics understands the universe through four forces: gravityhe electromagnetism and nuclear forces strong And weak.
However, since the 1980s there is speculation about the existence of a fifth forceto which we have even given the name “quintessence”, and which could help to explain still inexplicable phenomena, like the accelerated expansion of the universe.
Data from the asteroid Bennu and the hypothesis of a fifth force
Scientist Yu-Dai Tsai of Los Alamos National Laboratory led the analysis of Bennu’s orbital data. For Tsaï, the asteroid’s trajectory could offer insight into this hypothetical force. “Interpretation of Bennu tracking data has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the theoretical foundations of the universe,” says Tsai.
According to this hypothesis, any minimal deviation in Bennu’s orbit could reflect the presence of an unknown force, an “invisible hand” which would affect its trajectory without current instruments being able to detect it directly.
To detect this possible fifth force, Tsai’s team focused on precisely observing every detail of Bennu’s motion as it orbits the Sun. gravity and the solar radiationthe asteroid is a perfect laboratory for measuring the forces acting in near-Earth space.
Scientists are looking for anomalies in its orbit that could suggest the existence of this invisible force. The process was compared by Tsai to that of a game of billiards, where each ball moves under the influence of forces that are not always visible, but which modify the expected trajectory.
The challenges and limitations of studying the asteroid Bennu
So far, data obtained from Bennu has not confirmed the existence of a fifth force, but it has allowed scientists to set precise limits on how large and far-reaching this hypothetical force could be.
Tsai and her team have ruled out certain fifth force models that include ultralight bosonstheoretical particles that some scientists associate with dark matterthe mysterious substance that constitutes 85% of the matter in the universe.
It should be noted that research on asteroids is not new to the field of physics. In the past, observations of orbital anomalies led to important discoveries, such as that of Neptune, whose existence was deduced from the gravitational influence it exerted on Uranus.
However, this method also gave rise to errors, such as the false belief in the planet Vulcan, which some astronomers believed to be orbiting between Mercury and the Sun, which was later rejected.
What are the next steps in the search for the fifth force
Bennu is not the only asteroid on scientists’ target list. The OSIRIS-APEX mission, following on from OSIRIS-REx, has on its agenda the study of another nearby asteroid, Apophisthat It will pass particularly close to Earth in 2029.
During this event, researchers plan to observe its trajectory exhaustively to find new clues about the fifth force.
According to Sunny Vagnozzi, a cosmologist at the University of Trento and co-author of some studies in this area, the data collected so far represent “some of the tightest limits that have been recorded for Yukawa-type forces.”
This type of force describes hypothetical short-range interactions, and any discovery could change our understanding of this force. modern physics.
