Physicists find hints of Higgs boson “God particle”

[Sheila]

...Los Angeles Times
by Eryn Brown
13 Dec 11

Physicists announced Tuesday that they had detected "tantalizing hints," but not definitive proof, of the long-sought Higgs boson, the so-called God particle that is crucial to physicists' understanding of why mass exists in the universe.
….

The CERN results have been eagerly anticipated by physicists hoping to find experimental support for the Standard Model of particle physics, the theory that explains how subatomic particles interact to make up the building blocks of the universe.

But an important piece of evidence supporting the Standard Model never materialized: the Higgs boson. It is the particle associated with the so-called Higgs field, an energy field that gives mass to particles through a process known as the Higgs mechanism. (All are named for University of Edinburgh physicist Peter Higgs, one of several scientists who proposed the idea during the 1960s.)

If the theory is correct, scientists should be able to detect the Higgs boson, or multiple Higgs bosons, by smashing subatomic particles together at high energies, simulating conditions in the early universe….


http://www.latimes.com/news/science/...,7076752.story



...Wiki –

The Higgs boson is often referred to as "the God particle" by the media,[53] after the title of Leon Lederman's book, The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?[54] Lederman initially wanted to call Higgs boson "the goddamn particle" because "nobody could find the thing."[55]; but his editor would not let him.[56] While use of this term may have contributed to increased media interest in particle physics and the Large Hadron Collider,[54] many scientists dislike it, since it overstates the particle's importance, not least since its discovery would still leave unanswered questions about the unification of QCD, the electroweak interaction and gravity, and the ultimate origin of the universe.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_b...od_particle.22



...wired.com --

The goal: to find one lousy subatomic particle.

Specifically, the Higgs boson, the most elusive speck of matter in the universe. Often called the God particle, it's supposed to be the key to explaining why matter has mass. Physicists believe that Higgs particles generate a kind of soupy ether through which other particles move, picking up drag that translates into mass on the macroscopic scale. The Higgs is the cornerstone of 21st-century physics; it simply has to be there, otherwise the standard model of the universe collapses.


http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.04/grid.html

[Sheila]

Associated Press
by John Heilprin
2 Jul 12

GENEVA (AP) — Physicists say they have all but proven that the "God particle" exists. They have a footprint and a shadow, and the only thing left is to see for themselves the elusive subatomic particle believed to give all matter in the universe size and shape.

Scientists at the world's biggest atom smasher plan to announce Wednesday that they have nearly confirmed the primary plank of a theory that could restructure the understanding of why matter has mass, which combines with gravity to give an object weight.
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The focus of the excitement is the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle long sought by physicists.
….

Though an impenetrable concept to many, the Higgs boson has until now been just that — a concept intended to explain a riddle: How were subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons and neutrons, themselves formed? What gives them their mass?

The answer came in a theory first proposed by Scottish physicist Peter Higgs and others in the 1960s. It envisioned an energy field where particles interact with a key particle, the Higgs boson.

The idea is that other particles attract Higgs bosons and the more they attract, the bigger their mass will be. Some liken the effect to a ubiquitous Higgs snowfield that affects other particles traveling through it depending on whether they are wearing, metaphorically speaking, skis, snowshoes or just shoes…..


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...aa9863f7d84e5a

[Luc]

Any recent news on it? I haven't been following it too much the last couple of weeks.