| Standard Model of particle physics |
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The search for the Higgs boson was a 40-year effort by physicists to prove the existence or non-existence of the Higgs boson, first theorised in the 1960s. The Higgs boson was the last unobserved fundamental particle in the Standard Model of particle physics, and its discovery was described as being the "ultimate verification" of the Standard Model.[1] In March 2013, the Higgs boson was officially confirmed to exist.[2]
This confirmed answer proved the existence of the hypothetical Higgs field—a field of immense significance that is hypothesised as the source of electroweak symmetry breaking and the means by which elementary particles acquire mass.[Note 1] Symmetry breaking is considered proven but confirming exactly how this occurs in nature is a major unanswered question in physics. Proof of the Higgs field (by observing the associated particle) validates the final unconfirmed part of the Standard Model as essentially correct, avoiding the need for alternative sources for the Higgs mechanism. Evidence of its properties is likely to greatly affect human understanding of the universe and open up "new" physics beyond current theories.[4]
Despite their importance, the search and the proof were extremely difficult and took decades, because direct production, detection and verification of the Higgs boson on the scale needed to confirm the discovery and learn its properties required a very large experimental project and huge computing resources. For this reason, most experiments until around 2011 aimed to exclude ranges of masses that the Higgs could not have. Ultimately the search led to the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland, the largest particle accelerator in the world, designed especially for this and other high-energy tests of the Standard Model.
- ^ Ellis, John; Gaillard, Mary K.; Nanopoulos, Dimitri V. (2012). "A Historical Profile of the Higgs Boson". arXiv:1201.6045 [hep-ph].
- ^ O'Luanaigh, C. (14 March 2013). "New results indicate that new particle is a Higgs boson". CERN. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- ^ Rao, Achintya (2 July 2012). "Why would I care about the Higgs boson?". CMS Public Website. CERN. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ "The Higgs boson: Evolution or revolution?". LHC Backgrounders. CERN. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
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