On November 18, 2017, the journal Science published a retraction of a paper on the “angel particle” published in July 2017.
The paper stated that chiral Majorana fermions (also known as “angel particles”) were observed in experiments.
The retraction statement, signed by the editor, said, “Readers who were unable to reproduce the results requested the original data files from the authors of the paper.
Subsequently, the source of the original data was questioned; moreover, serious discrepancies and irregularities emerged between the original data and the published data.
These problems led the editors of Science to lose all confidence in the paper’s conclusions and therefore to an editorial retraction.
“Of the 20 authors of the paper, 14 disagreed with the retraction.
Of the four corresponding authors, Shoucheng Zhang has passed away, and Qinglin He, Xufeng Kou, and Kanglong Wang all disagreed with the retraction.
According to Science China, Kanglong Wang said in a reply to Science China, “All our data are true …… we insist that our paper has scientific value.
We believe that Science’s editorial decision is unfounded and unjust.
“A spokesperson for Science told Retraction Watch, “The decision was made by the Science editorial board in consultation with a number of experts who signed confidentiality agreements.
After careful consideration, the editors concluded that the authors had not provided a scientifically sound explanation for the noncompliance in the original data.” (Science China, Retraction Watch)
