Feng et al. (2016) proposed that a "protophobic" X boson, with a mass of 16.7 MeV/c2, suppressed couplings to protons relative to neutrons and electrons at femtometre range, could explain the data. The force may explain the g − 2 muon anomaly and provide a dark matter candidate. As of 2019[update], several research experiments are underway to attempt to validate or refute these results.
In 2021 the workshop "Shedding light on X17" was held at Centro Enrico Fermi in Rome, Italy. The workshop discussed the ATOMKI anomaly and its theoretical interpretation and future experiments to confirm and explain it. One of the experiments that plans to repeat the original ATOMKI lithium–beryllium experiment is MEG II at PSI institute; the measurement was planned (in 2021) to be completed in 2022. Also Universite de Montreal's 6 MV (6 megavolt) Tandem Van de Graaff Facility in Montreal has an experiment that attempts to reproduce the ATOMKI measurement; data taking should take place in early 2023.
In 2022, another preprint was published by Krasznahorkay et al. supporting the X17 particle hypothesis.
In early 2023 the MEG II experiment performed its replication of the ATOMKI lithium–beryllium experiment; as of January 2024 the results have not yet been published (although the measurements were made in early 2023). As of September 2024, the analysis of measurement results has been done but an article has not been published.
The ATOMKI group had claimed to find various other new particles earlier in 2016 but abandoned these claims later, without an explanation of what caused the spurious signals. The group has also been accused of cherry-picking results that support new particles while discarding null results.
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