GENEVA — European researchers said Friday that they have discovered a new subatomic particle that helps confirm the knowledge about how quarks bind — one of the basic forces in the shaping of matter.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, said Friday that the particle was discovered at one of CERN’s two main experiments involving thousands of researchers, in collaboration with the University of Zurich.

Joe Incandela, the physicist in charge of the experiment involved with the discovery, said the particle was predicted long ago but finding it was “really kind of a classic tour de force of experimental work.”

Front Section, Pages 8 on 04/28/2012