Higgs Definition and 684 Threads

In the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is essential to explain the generation mechanism of the property "mass" for gauge bosons. Without the Higgs mechanism, all bosons (one of the two classes of particles, the other being fermions) would be considered massless, but measurements show that the W+, W−, and Z0 bosons actually have relatively large masses of around 80 GeV/c2. The Higgs field resolves this conundrum. The simplest description of the mechanism adds a quantum field (the Higgs field) that permeates all space to the Standard Model. Below some extremely high temperature, the field causes spontaneous symmetry breaking during interactions. The breaking of symmetry triggers the Higgs mechanism, causing the bosons it interacts with to have mass. In the Standard Model, the phrase "Higgs mechanism" refers specifically to the generation of masses for the W±, and Z weak gauge bosons through electroweak symmetry breaking. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN announced results consistent with the Higgs particle on 14 March 2013, making it extremely likely that the field, or one like it, exists, and explaining how the Higgs mechanism takes place in nature.
The mechanism was proposed in 1962 by Philip Warren Anderson, following work in the late 1950s on symmetry breaking in superconductivity and a 1960 paper by Yoichiro Nambu that discussed its application within particle physics.
A theory able to finally explain mass generation without "breaking" gauge theory was published almost simultaneously by three independent groups in 1964: by Robert Brout and François Englert; by Peter Higgs; and by Gerald Guralnik, C. R. Hagen, and Tom Kibble. The Higgs mechanism is therefore also called the Brout–Englert–Higgs mechanism, or Englert–Brout–Higgs–Guralnik–Hagen–Kibble mechanism, Anderson–Higgs mechanism, Anderson–Higgs–Kibble mechanism, Higgs–Kibble mechanism by Abdus Salam and ABEGHHK'tH mechanism (for Anderson, Brout, Englert, Guralnik, Hagen, Higgs, Kibble, and 't Hooft) by Peter Higgs. The Higgs mechanism in electrodynamics was also discovered independently by Eberly and Reiss in reverse
as the "gauge" Dirac field mass gain due to the artificially displaced electromagnetic field as a Higgs field.On 8 October 2013, following the discovery at CERN's Large Hadron Collider of a new particle that appeared to be the long-sought Higgs boson predicted by the theory, it was announced that Peter Higgs and François Englert had been awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics.

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  1. 1

    Wait.... what causes gravity again?

    last week, I've just gone through and reviewed myself with general relativity, and am confused, but in a good way; but this time, i had spaces to question it so... what causes gravity again? cuz apperently, mass causes gravity, which curves spacetime, but gravity causes mass to exist...
  2. arivero

    I Higgs and Nuclear Yields: amusing coincidence.

    I sincerely hope that the LHC people are measuring the real thing and not a leak of uranium somewhere. This is the plot of nuclear yields for spontaneous fission, extracted from wikipedia. The horizontal axis is atomic mass number and we can use 1 amu = 931.49 GeV. Some of you can remember that...
  3. Q

    Could the Higgs Boson Help Identify Dark Matter?

    I have been looking into Dark Matter recently and how we know really little about it to even try to identify what it is clearly. But Dark Matter obiously has mass which means that in some way it must be interacting with the Higgs Field. So could studying the Higgs Boson and comparing its...
  4. P

    About Abelian U(1) Higgs model

    1.In Abelian higgs model,we can come to the results that the gauge bosons acquire mass, implying the photons also acquire mass in this model；however,photons are massless in reality.How to explain this dilemma? 2.What does U(1) mean in this model?Does it correspond to some coservation laws,or...
  5. Swetha.M.L

    Is Higgs boson massless or does it gain mass when interacting with water?

    Is higgs boson massless? Photon is massless , is photon get mass when interract with water?
  6. S

    What Happens When a Street Urchin Walks Into the Higgs Boson Analogy?

    i was thinking about the Higgs Boson analogy that was put forward to help describe how it works/interacts to produce mass, of a very famous person walking into a party, everyone gathers round impedes progress, high interaction with Higgs field and particles therefore high mass, and then a less...
  7. N

    Exploring the Higgs Boson and Photons: What Gives Mass to Particles?

    Is highs boson a subatomic particle? If so what gives it mass. I mean if Higgs boson give mass to other particles then what gives mass to Higgs boson? Also could anyone explain how it can give mass to other particles? I would also like to ask about the light photons. How come they hon have mass...
  8. Marc Brown

    How do Physicists know the Higgs Field imparts mass?

    I can understand using calculations to determine if a particular quark configuration will work and not decay instantly, but how do calculations determine which particles or fields will have a specific influence over space-time if they weren't able to control the particle or field at will? How...
  9. D

    B Unanswered Questions About the Higgs Model and Its Role in Explaining Mass

    The supposed discovery of the Higgs three years ago was widely celebrated. Nobel prizes were handed out and the mystery of the origin of mass is now explained. But does the Higgs actually explain mass at all? When thinking about the Higgs, I think it's best to ask these questions first: 1...
  10. CaptainNorway

    Relativity & Higgs Field: Exploring a Connection

    I watched a Stephen Hawking series a few months after reading an article about the significance of the Higgs Field and throughout the entire Stephen Hawking thing I was plagued by the notion that some aspects of relativity, such as how as something speed up as it gains mass could be explained...
  11. M

    Primordial black holes refute Higgs vacuum decay?

    http://arxiv.org/abs/1507.05760 Higgs boson cosmology Ian G. Moss (Submitted on 21 Jul 2015) The discovery of the Standard Model Higgs boson opens up a range of speculative cosmological scenarios, from the formation of structure in the early universe immediately after the big bang, to relics...
  12. Safinaz

    MSSM Higgs Potential Homework: Get Equ. (1.70)

    Homework Statement Hi, I study the Higss sector of the MSSM from this review " arxiv:0503173v2", "The Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Model", In Sec.: 1.2, it gives the Higgs potential by Equ. (1.60), then after acquiring the vevs and minimizing the potential to get the masses...
  13. ynon

    What does Higgs partcle impart mass to?

    [Moderator's note: Thread moved to Quantum Physics since it is more appropriate there.] O.K., I'm confused: According to How Stuff Works http://science.howstuffworks.com/higgs-boson1.htm "Can't matter just inherently have mass without the Higgs boson confusing things? Not according to the...
  14. ChrisVer

    Why Does the Bivector Higgs Field Define Custodial Symmetry in Equations 45-51?

    http://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/0410370v2.pdf Can someone help me understand why in the Sec. 3 Custodial Symmetry, Eq 45-51 he goes all the way in defining a bivector Higgs field in the way he did?
  15. M

    Higgs Bosson, manipulate gravity, 4 dimensional space.

    Higgs bosson as we know is responsible to giving particles mass, mass is responsible for the gravity. So I think higgs bosson can be used to manipulated gravity. If we can made the device that can manipulate gravity using higgs bosson, can we make 4 dimensional space? can we make the real...
  16. S

    How does the Higgs field interact with black holes?

    What happens to the higgs field around the event horizon of a black hole, or is this currently unknown? Does the higgs field permeate inside the event horizon? Can extreme gravity affect the field in some way by changing its properties?
  17. QuantumKangaroo

    Difference between Photons and the Higgs Boson?

    I'm new to quantum physics, and this might be a stupid question. What is the difference between Photons and the Higgs Boson? I know that neither of them interact with the Higgs field. And that when CERN found the Higgs Boson, it decayed into other particles INCLUDING photons. So what's the...
  18. Safinaz

    Couplings of new Higgs scalars and CP- invariance

    Hi all, In A. Djouadi's review for Higgs, volume II, " arXiv:hep-ph/0503173v2 ", Sec. 1.2.3, it discuss the couplings of SUSY new scalars with gauge bosons, there are some points I don't understand: - CP–invariance forbids WWA, ZZA and W ZH ± couplings - For the couplings between two Higgs...
  19. ChrisVer

    Measuring Higgs Spin to Detecting Symmetry in Decay Products

    How would someone measure the Higgs spin? I have a feeling that the spin would somehow affect the symmetry of the decays...? A spin zero would have to show a spherically symmetric distribution of decay products (independent on ##\theta##, maybe a little dependent on ##\eta## due to the...
  20. S

    Do you believe the Higgs boson was experimentally confirmed?

    Do you believe the Higgs boson was already experimentally confirmed? I guess that, as with any elementary particle, the Higgs boson should have a lot of theoretical properties that must all be experimentally confirmed to be sure it is Higgs' and not some other entity. Have the scientists...
  21. G

    Higgs field and my non-physicist friend

    I have heard many physicists in the media attempt to describe the Higgs boson in terms of analogies. Many seem to my amateur physicist mind to fall down immediately. One such analogy is that particles with mass interact with the Higgs field as if swimming through treacle. This is particularly...
  22. M

    Will LHC season 2 tell us more about the Higgs Field?

    The data from the previous LHC season has indicated that the Higgs is sufficiently heavy enough to suggest that the Higgs Field is meta-stable (False Vacuum) with the potential of an another minimum with lower energies (True Vacuum). So the question is if the second season of the LHC will tell...
  23. Spinnor

    Give mass to a massless scalar field in 1+1, Higgs like?

    Is it possible to have a free massless scalar field in 1+1 spacetime and then add another field of the right type which interacts with some adjustable strength with the massless field to give mass to the massless field? Is there a Higgs-like mechanism in 1+1 spacetime? Thanks for any help!
  24. E

    How Does the Higgs Field Influence the Standard Model and Particle Masses?

    Problem I have a project for my university class on the Higgs fields and how it impacts the standard model, and how the Higgs particle is formed and decays into particles with the probability of decay based on the mass of the particles it will decay into. I need resources that I can cite like...
  25. jlefevre76

    What Lies Beyond the Higgs Boson in Particle Physics?

    So, the Higgs boson might be one of the most important discoveries in terms of the standard model. I'm new to the standard model, and had a few questions related to the future of its research. If the Higgs is ultimately what creates gravitational fields, or at least gives things mass (and is...
  26. AlanKirby

    Higgs mass - Why is it a Gaussian distribution?

    Hi, so my question is along the lines of the following: If I'm looking at the decay channel H=>ZZ=>4 Muons, why would the resultant distribution for the mass of the parent Higgs be a Gaussian? Is it a case of the peak is the actual value of the Higgs at rest; those of greater mass are Higgs...
  27. N

    Charge of the W bosons in the Higgs Mechanism

    I am confused about how the gauge boson W+ and W- get their charge under spontaneous symmetry breaking in the Higgs mechanism. Here's what I have so far: The covariant derivative for a SU(2)⊗U(1) is DμΦ = (∂μ + igWμiσi/2 + ig'Bμ)Φ where g and g' are coupling constants. SU(2) is associated...
  28. Breo

    The Higgs role in the universe

    What are the lines of investigation right now? I'd have listened that it could be more than one kind of Higgs particle, which ones? What if them are found? Could an arbitrary universe exist without the Higgs field? or it would exist as a it must exist? (maybe this is very philosofical) What...
  29. Swetha.M.L

    Unravelling the Mystery of Higgs boson and Light Particles

    from a malayalam language newspaper i read about Higgsboson that is according to standard model the Higgsboson is the piece of the atom that endows all the other piece with their mass. when electrons,quarks,etc are associated with higgs field they get mass. the light particle called photons have...
  30. G

    Can we say the Higgs is 'the originator of Time'?

    Some popular explanations of the Higgs boson go something like this: 'Without the Higgs, all the energy bits we call fundamental particles would be moving at the speed of light and could not interact with each other, nothing would 'happen'. The interaction with the Higgs field give those...
  31. David McArthur

    Does the Higgs field mean that space has energy?

    I have been watching a few explanations of the Higgs boson/ Higgs field. From what I can understand is that all space if filled with a sea of Higgs bosons which create the Higgs field. Is the Higgs field a property of space and does it give space energy? As more space is created with the...
  32. E

    Maximizing Higgs Particle Travel: Insights on Acceleration and Detection

    When you accelerate higgs.. would it travel the same as photon with alternating magnetic and electric field traveling on permissitity and permeability of the vacuum. In other words, how do you make scalar particles travel? If we can make really sensitive Higgs detector.. then you make higgs...
  33. Vailanor

    What discoveries has the LHC made besides the Higgs Boson?

    Seeing as how the LHC is going to reboot soon, I am rather curious about what discoveries the LHC has made besides the Higgs Boson. I am also curious about what the LHC will be doing soon. I would also like more details about the Particle Physics field in a whole because it seems incredibly...
  34. jim mcnamara

    Did Homer Simpson Accurately Calculate the Mass of the Higgs Boson?

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/homer-simpson-higgs-boson_n_6793204.html?utm_hp_ref=media&ir=Media According to Simon Singh, in a 1998 episode the writers of the Simpsons had Homer in front of blackboard with a supposedly accurate calculation of the mass of the Higgs boson. Hmm...
  35. Q

    Energy-Mass Equivalence & Higgs Field Interaction

    If according to energy-mass equivalence, an object's mass increase as its energy increases too, then the amount of energy a particle possesses determines its interaction with the Higgs Field. How is this right or wrong?
  36. N

    What is the electric charge of Higgs particle?

    What is the electric charge of Higgs particle?Then if it is charge particle why must we give that particle the charge? In GWS model we introduce a scalar field in the spinor representation of SU(2):(H^+,H^0) .Then why must we choose positive charge for H^+? Now,I think that Q=T^3+Y/2,and we...
  37. K

    Higgs Potential Energy: Definition, Scale & Coleman-Weinberg

    When we discuss higgs potential energy in textbook, we mean it takes the form ## V(h)= m^2 h^2 + \lambda h^4/4##. My question is: is potential energy always defined at some specific energy scale? since the parameters depend on energy. For instance, if I am interested in the form of higgs...
  38. Trevor Hulette

    Higgs Boson: Decay, Proton Remnants & Detection

    I am concerned about the idea of decay of HB... when two photons collide in Hadron .. exploding outward.. as the proton remnants leave trails in the field surrounding .. revealing a smaller particle field which quickly disappear... My contemplations lead me to think they do NOT quickly decay...
  39. Q

    What does "the Higgs Boson destroys itself" means?

    I was reading a book that said the Higgs Boson destroys itself within trillionth of a second, I really did not understand this, so what does it mean?
  40. Safinaz

    Fermions Mass Terms in SM: Questions & Answers

    Hi all, I have some points not so clear for me about the fermions mass terms in SM; first, why ## \bar{\psi}\psi = \bar{\psi}_L \psi_R + \bar{\psi}_R \psi_L ##, that since ## \bar{\psi} = \bar{\psi}_R + \bar{\psi}_L ## and ## \psi = \psi_R + \psi_L ## Where are such terms: ## \bar{\psi}_R...
  41. B

    Is it possible that Higgs is a force carrier?

    Every gauge boson is within a field and carries a force. Higgs is a scalar (spin 0) boson. I am not sure which category a graviton (spin 2) would fit into, but it surely would carry a force. Is it possible that Higgs carries a force that we have not recognized yet?
  42. A

    $100+ billion dollar gravity business

    I've applied physics in nuclear weapons work, finance, biochemistry, molecular dynamics, space physics, and other areas. High school students, and even young Air Force officers with technical degrees often have little idea of the value of physics. And physics loses. Linked here to a Prezi...
  43. Safinaz

    CMS public results for Higgs boson

    Hi all, I read one of the CMS results for new charged Higgs on : https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/CMSPublic/Hig14020TWiki I can't understand this sentence at the main results: What does it mean? is that constrains the theoretical calculations of sigma(pp -> H+- tb) to be 0.41-0.030 pb...
  44. arivero

    Higgs Field with SB but without Higgs Boson?

    Hi, I was searching for some example of a theory where all the components of the higgs field are "eaten" by the vector gauge fields and no Higgs boson is left. I have just checked Georgi-Glashow SO(3) --> U(1), but they use a triplet Higgs so at the end again a Higgs Boson does appear. Is it...
  45. avito009

    Higgs Field & Mass: Exploring the Interaction

    [Mentor's note: Several related threads have been combined into this thread.] --------------------------- I read that Electron is mainly energy so it can easily travel through the higgs field. Muon has a bit more mass than Electron so it experiences friction when it goes past the higgs...
  46. Safinaz

    What determines the range of the new Higgs triple coupling in 2HDM?

    Hi, I wonder if a theory like 2HDM has a new triple Higgs coupling, like ##g_{hH^+H^-}##, what governs how much is this coupling ? For example a paper as : arXiv:1405.3584v1 [hep-ph], they normalize ##g_{hH^+H^-}## by the SM ##g_{hWW}##, they plotted at fig. 3 (f)...
  47. S

    Consequence of Making a Higgs particle

    Now we are presumably creating (?) Higgs Bosons in the collider. But the universe is permeated already by the Higgs field and Higgs bosons. When the colliders make an "artificial" Higgs, what conservation laws (in addition to energy, momentum, charge, isospin, baryon number etc.)are obeyed? In...
  48. P

    Relativistic Particle Decay of Higgs Boson

    Homework Statement A Higgs boson has mass 125 GeV/c2, decaying into a pair of Z bosons, mass 91 GeV/c2. In the lab frame, one of the Z bosons is at rest. Determine the kinetic energy for the other Z boson in this laboratory frame. Homework Equations E = γmc2 γ=1/√(1-β2) The Attempt at a...
  49. ChrisVer

    Higgs Boson Discovery: Find CMS & ATLAS Papers Here

    I am looking for the famous CMS and ATLAS papers which announced the discovery of a new boson particle... Could someone help me by posting the link here?
  50. T

    Does the Higgs Mechanism Influence Gravity in the Same Way for All Particles?

    I understand that Higgs mechanism “gives” mass to particles in QM sense. My first question is, why it also gives mass in GR sense, bending space-time? Of course, I don’t expect an answer now as it is definitely a TOE/Quantum gravity territory. However, let me rephrase my question in a narrower...
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