Article
Article
Higgs boson
Article By:
Quigg, Chris Theoretical Physics Department, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois.
Last reviewed:August 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.317875
Show previous versions
- Higgs boson, published 2015:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Higgs boson, published June 2014:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
A massive unstable scalar elementary particle that is the agent of electroweak symmetry breaking in the Glashow–Weinberg–Salam theory. According to the electroweak theory, interactions with the Higgs field endow the weak bosons, quarks, and leptons with mass. In July 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), announced the discovery of a new particle with mass 125 GeV (1 GeV = 109 electronvolts) that closely matches the theoretical expectations (Fig. 1). This observation led to the awarding of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics to two pioneers of the symmetry-breaking mechanism that underlies the electroweak theory, François Englert (for his work with the late Robert Brout) and Peter Higgs.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
