Of Particular Significance

The Higgs Particle

Here are some articles about the Higgs particle, also known as the Higgs boson, which was discovered in 2012.

You might want to start with the Higgs FAQ, or my one-page article on why the Higgs particle’s discovery was a big deal:

Here’s what it took to discover the Higgs particle in 2012, and the questions that faced physicists in early 2013 — many of which still face us today, especially (2), (3), (4) and (6).

Here’s some background on the Higgs particle that appears in the simplest model of particle physics consistent with all existing data, known as the “Standard Model”.  Also included is some discussion of simple variations on this model, with particular focus on “exotic” decays of the new particle that would not be predicted to occur if the Standard Model truly describes nature.

The Higgs particle is a ripple in the Higgs field.  I have written a book that explains the workings of the Higgs field without using math.  An explanation that uses university-level math is to be found at this link.

Finally, here are links to some old pages that are mostly out of date.

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A decay of a Higgs boson, as reconstructed by the CMS experiment at the LHC