edit: thanks for the explanation
edit: thanks for the explanation
For any experts reading this: what are plausible-looking extensions of the standard model which can probably be challenged/"proved" by current generation accelerators (in particular the LHC) and would lead to interesting extensions of the standard model?
As far as I am aware, the LHC could e.g. find no sign of lots of variants of supersymmetry, which was a plausible candiate for this in the past:
> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/supersymmetry-fai...
> https://www.quantamagazine.org/complications-in-physics-lend...
Until recently they were mostly looking for specific deviations predicted by extensions. They only recently announced that they're now going for a broader search.
They'll write down a model that describes it, which is all theorists' job to begin with.
We can add an extra parameter to general relativity (known as the "cosmological constant") to describe "dark energy" observations via a kind of 'anti gravity'; although we still don't fully understand what that means, or whether it's a correct description. It's also unclear whether this would have anything to do with quantum theories (like the standard model).
General relativity can explain "dark matter" observations by assuming there is more mass/matter than we can see (i.e. it's electrically neutral and doesn't interact with light). Since the standard model tries to describe all of the fundamental constituents of matter, and forces including electromagnetism (light), having nothing to say about such a seemingly large amount of stuff is a rather large discrepancy in the standard model.
AFAIK the standard model also says that neutrinos have zero mass; yet we've observed them undergoing radioactive decay ("neutrino oscillation", where each sort of neutrino can decay into the others). Particles which decay require some amount of time to do so. Particles with zero mass always travel at the speed of light (like photons, and hypothetical gravitons) and hence don't experience any time passing (this sentence is a consequence of special relativity). So particles with zero mass can't decay, so neutrinos can't have zero mass. I don't think we've measured their mass very accurately yet; we know it's very small, but it cannot be zero.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_neutrino_problem
OOPS: I see a sibling comment also covers this. Oh well, I'll keep this one up since it's slightly more eye-catching.
If we have a conversation and you reveal that my assumptions are wrong, I can go back, rethink everything, and come out with a stronger world view.
Basically, this experiment didn't tell scientists anything they didn't already know, or didn't prove them wrong--which might lead to newer, more interesting models that reveal more about the universe.
As the cosmologist Sean Carroll said in his podcast, particle physicists haven't really been surprised by an observation since the 1970s. Presumably many were hoping for a surprise.