A theoretical physicist is challenging the particle physics community to find new physics in the zeptouniverse within this decade rather than waiting until 2070 for next-generation colliders. Andrzej Buras from the Technical University of Munich argues that ultra-rare particle decays could reveal physics beyond the Standard Model without waiting for the Future Circular Collider.

Since the Large Hadron Collider confirmed the Higgs boson in 2012, physicists have been searching for new particles to explain dark matter and matter-antimatter asymmetry. The LHC can directly observe particles down to 50 zeptometers, but Buras believes elusive particles could exist at the 10^-21 meter scale. His "magnificent seven" targets include rare decays of B mesons and kaons that might provide indirect evidence of new physics.

Recent experiments are already detecting these ultra-rare events. The Belle II experiment in Japan captured B meson decay producing kaons and neutrinos, while CERN's NA62 experiment recorded a positively charged kaon decaying into a pion and matter-antimatter pair. With less than one in 10 billion kaons decaying this way, these observations represent our only window into the zeptouniverse until future colliders come online.