Higgs boson

A Higgs boson or Higgs particle is an elementary particle described within the framework of the Standard Model of particle physics. On 14 March 2013, it was reported by CERN that they believe they have confirmed the discovery of a particle consistent with a Higgs boson based on observations of its decay products, but it is still unknown whether it is the Higgs posited by the Standard Model. Experiments to detect the Higgs boson resulted in the discovery of a new, previously unknown boson during 2012; however, contrary to widespread misreporting, the new particle has only been tentatively confirmed to be the Standard Model Higgs boson as of March 2013. Definitive confirmation that the Higgs boson exists would be monumental since it could prove the existence of the Higgs field, the Standard Model’s explanation of why some fundamental particles have mass when the symmetries controlling their interactions should require them to be massless, and—linked to this—why the weak force has a much shorter range than the electromagnetic force. Its discovery would validate the final unconfirmed part of the Standard Model, and guide other theories and discoveries in particle physics, and—as with other fundamental discoveries of the past—potentially over time lead to developments in “new” physics, and new technology.