Known as Xi(b)* (pronounced "csai bee-star"), the new particle is a baryon, a type of matter made up of three even smaller pieces called quarks. Protons and neutrons, which make up the nuclei of atoms, are also baryons.

(Related: "Proton Smaller Than Thought—May Rewrite Laws of Physics.")

The Xi(b)* particle belongs to the so-called beauty baryons, particles that all contain a bottom quark, also known as a beauty quark.

The newfound particle had long been predicted by theory but had never been observed. Although finding Xi(b)* wasn't exactly a surprise, the discovery should help scientists solve the larger puzzle of how matter is formed.

"It's another brick in the wall," said James Alexander, a physicist at Cornell University who conducts experiments with