Bennu asteroid sample being used to discover possible fifth force in universe

It has been a year since the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission brought back a sample of dust and rocks collected on the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. Scientists aim to learn about the universe by studying the material, however, the data is also being used to find new physics.

An international research team led by Los Alamos National Laboratory is using the information to study the possible existence of a fifth fundamental force of the universe.

The research has been mentioned in Communications Physics, where experts have talked about using the asteroid's tracking data to find out if a mystery force exists.

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"Interpreting the data we see from tracking Bennu has the potential to add to our understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the universe, potentially revamping our understanding of the Standard Model of physics, gravity and dark matter," said Yu-Dai Tsai, lead author on the paper.

"The trajectories of objects often feature anomalies that can be useful in discovering new physics."

Near-Earth asteroids are closely tracked to monitor those that can be potentially dangerous. The information gathered before and during the OSIRIS-REx mission was applied by the team to a probe of extensions of the Standard Model of physics.

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The trajectory of Bennu has been monitored using optical and radar astrometric data since it was discovered in 1999.

"The tight constraints we've achieved translate readily to some of the tightest-ever limits on Yukawa-type fifth forces," Sunny Vagnozzi, assistant professor at the University of Trento in Italy, and the co-author ofthe paper, said.

He added that asteroid tracking can be "a valuable tool in the search for ultralight bosons, dark matter and several well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model."

The physics of trajectories can be used to solve the mysteries of the universe, especially when anomalies are present. The same was the case with Neptune, a planet, which was inferred by observations of irregularities in the orbit of nearby planet Uranus.

Using trajectory data and resulting modelling from the tracking of Bennu, they established constraints on a possible fifth force. Along with this, the role of a potential mediating particle, such as an ultralight boson, in that fifth force was also examined.

The presence of such a particle that might act upon a fifth force would show up in the altered orbit of an asteroid like Bennu, researchers say.

Apophis is next

The team now plans to track the Apophis asteroid, approaching Earth at a distance of 20,000 miles in 2029.

NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will visit the asteroid, dipping towards it and kicking up dust and rocks. The search for fifth-force physics will continue with Apophis by observing the impact of Earth's gravity on it.