Of Particular Significance

Fourth Step in the Triplet Model is up.

Picture of POSTED BY Matt Strassler

POSTED BY Matt Strassler

ON 05/23/2022

Advanced particle physics today:

Today we move deeper into the reader-requested explanation of the “triplet model,”  (a classic and simple variation on the Standard Model of particle physics, in which the W boson mass can be raised slightly relative to Standard Model predictions without affecting other current experiments.) The math required is still pre-university level, though slowly creeping up as complex numbers start to appear.

The firstsecond and third webpages in this series provided a self-contained introduction that concluded with a full cartoon of the triplet model, showing how a small modification of the Higgs mechanism of the Standard Model can shift a “W” particle’s mass upward.

Next, we begin a new phase in which the cartoon is gradually replaced with the real thing. In the new fourth webpage, I start laying the groundwork for understanding how the Standard Model works — in particular how the Higgs boson gives mass to the W and Z bosons, and what SU(2) x U(1) is all about — following which it won’t be hard to explain the triplet model.

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