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THE HIGGS BOSON CONFIRMED
The theory of relativity; the discovery of black holes; the splitting of the atom. Every now and then a discovery is made that changes the way we view science and the universe. In 50 years, today may be such a time.
On July 4th, 2012, two separate groups of scientists working independently at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN announced that they had observed what appeared to be a new type of particle. Initial results indicated that the new particle, observed as a result of smashing two protons together at energies and velocities never before attempted, was the long-theorized Higgs Boson.
Originally proposed by Peter Higgs and a team of physicists in 1964,the Higgs Boson is also sometimes referred to as the ?god particle.? The term ?god particle? is often criticized as a somewhat sensationalist and inaccurate title, and comes from the title of a book by the then director of Fermilab Leon Lederman criticizing the US government for failing to support the Superconducting Super Collider.. It is believed that, by interacting with a field generated by the particle, all other particles are given mass. Without mass, other particles would not have gravity, and matter would not be able stick together enough for you to be reading this post.
Now, scientists have finished analyzing data from the entire year and determined that the observed particle is, indeed, a Higgs boson. They reached this conclusion after determining how it interacts with other particles and its quantum properties. The Higgs boson is theorized to have no spin and a positive parity. All of the options for the spin-parity of the particle prefer a conclusion that matches the predictions.
The next thing to determine is what type of Higgs Boson it is. There are many more tests to be run to determine if it is the particle described in the Standard Model, or if it is one that is predicted by theories that go beyond the Standard Model. To make a determination, scientists will have to measure the rate at which the Higgs boson decays into other particles.
Further tests will likely take a long time, as the detection of the Higgs boson only occurs about once in every trillion proton collisions, and it will take many more observations to characterize all of its decay modes.
The image below is a simulated model of a Higgs event, in which a Higgs boson is produced following the collision of two protons.
For the official announcement, visit the CERN website at:
http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/2013/03/new-results-indicate-new-particle-higgs-boson
Image credit: CERN
Posted at: https://www.facebook.com/AstrophysicsAndAstronomy
