More generally, when you refer to research into particles or unknown phenomena, not predicted by currently accepted physical theories, you talk about research into “new physics”. This constitutes an important thread of theoretical and experimental research in contemporary physics, especially in the field of particle physics. In certain experiments, like those underway in the LHC accelerator at CERN in Geneva, you can in fact say that research into new physics is now the main goal, both via the detailed verification of anomalies already observed and via research into new particles.
Intense theoretical work sits alongside experimental research. In recent decades, theoretical physicists have formulated a large quantity of models that attempt to describe, coherently, what cannot be explained through the standard model. Of the many hypotheses put forward, it is worth citing that of “supersymmetry” (already formulated in the 1970s), according to which a “supersymmetrical partner” should correspond to each known particle. One of the strong points of supersymmetry, which made it very popular fora long time, is that it would be able to effectively explain various open problems of fundamental physics: for example, some supersymmetrical particles would be perfect candidates for constituting dark matter. However, despite decades of experimental research, no sign of the observation of “super-particles” has yet been recorded.
