An illustration of events recorded in 2012 with the CMS detector shows features expected from the decay of a Higgs boson (dashed yellow lines) to a few photons (green towers).Credit: Thomas McCauley/CMS Collaboration Ten years ago, on July 4, 2012, scientists around the world celebrated the momentous news that researchers had found evidence supporting the … Read more
On July 4, 2012, physicists at CERN, the European Laboratory of Particle Physics, declared victory in their long search for the Higgs boson. The discovery of the elusive particle filled the last gap in the Standard Model – the best description of particles and forces by physicists – and opened a new window on physics … Read more
Ten years ago, jubilant physicists working on the world’s most powerful science experiment, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, announced the discovery of the Higgs boson — a particle scientists had been searching for since 1964, when its existence of it was first predicted. † “For particle physicists, the Higgs boson was the missing … Read more
Many Americans are celebrating the nation’s birthday today, but physicists and science nerds are also celebrating the tenth anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson — otherwise known as the “God particle” — on July 4. You may not be familiar with physicist Peter Higgs, who first predicted the existence of the new particle … Read more
Many Americans are celebrating the nation’s birthday today, but physicists and science nerds are also celebrating the tenth anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson — otherwise known as the “God particle” — on July 4. You may not be familiar with physicist Peter Higgs, who first predicted the existence of the new particle … Read more
The Higgs boson is the fundamental force-carrying particle of the Higgs field, which is responsible for imparting mass to other particles. This field was first proposed in the mid-1960s by Peter Higgs — after whom the particle is named, and his colleagues. The particle was finally discovered on July 4, 2012 by researchers at the … Read more
Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment uses this circular electromagnet to store muons so that their magnetic moment can be measured with unprecedented precision.Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory/SPL The mysteries of the muon continue to fascinate physicists. Last year, an experiment suggested that the elementary particle had an inexplicably strong magnetism, potentially breaking a decades-long series of victories … Read more
Faster, better, stronger. A new phase of operations at the Large Hadron Collider – the world’s largest particle accelerator – is slated for a few weeks, just a day after the 10th anniversary of its greatest achievement to date: the discovery of the long-sought Higgs boson. The reopening of the accelerator (it has been closed … Read more
Researchers have discovered a new particle that is a magnetic relative of the Higgs boson† While the discovery of the Higgs boson required the enormous particle accelerating power of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), this never-before-seen particle — dubbed the axial Higgs boson — was found using an experiment that would fit on a small … Read more