Many phenomena that we observe in the Universe do not yet have an explanation, and sometimes in order to look for an explanation it becomes compelling to go beyond the standard theories and explore new physical scenarios. So, a team of researchers of INFN (Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics) and INAF (Italian Institute of Astrophysics) – in order to avoid an anomaly concerning blazars – have proposed a solution involving new particles named ALPs, which are predicted by various theories which go beyond the Standard Model. ALPs are neutral, extremely light particles which preferentially couple to photons. Among the authors there is Giovanni Bignami, a famous astrophysicist who recently passed away, whose last scientific contribution has been published in the last issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

• Read the complete press release.
• Read the original version in Italian.