In particle language, the constant Higgs field is a superfluid of charged particles, and a charged superfluid is a superconductor. Inside a superconductor, the gauge electric and magnetic fields both become short-ranged, or massive.
This means that all of space is filled with the background Higgs field, the so-called Higgs condensate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_mechanismThe Higgs mechanism can be considered as the superconductivity in the vacuum. It occurs when all of space is filled with a sea of particles which are charged, or in field language, when a charged field has a nonzero vacuum expectation value. Interaction with the quantum fluid filling the space prevents certain forces from propagating over long distances.
Chalnoth said:Nope, it's something different altogether. Now, the Higgs field has an effect on the behavior gravity, in that interactions with the Higgs field are what give particles their masses. But gravity isn't "created" by the Higgs field: it would be around regardless.
Gravity, so far as we know, is the way that matter warps space-time, combined with how matter moves through warped space-time. The quantum-mechanical underpinnings of precisely how this operates are as yet uncertain, but some things are clear: gravity must be mediated by a massless spin-2 field. It must be massless (or nearly so) because gravity is a long-range force. It must be even-integer-spin because it is always attractive. A force based upon a spin-0 field would cause a different deflection of photons, so that's out. A force based upon a spin-2 massless field, however, replicates Einstein's equations (in some appropriate classical limit).Rymer said:Chalnoth, just exactly what is your conceptual model of gravity and how it works?
Chalnoth said:Gravity, so far as we know, is the way that matter warps space-time, combined with how matter moves through warped space-time. The quantum-mechanical underpinnings of precisely how this operates are as yet uncertain, but some things are clear: gravity must be mediated by a massless spin-2 field. It must be massless (or nearly so) because gravity is a long-range force. It must be even-integer-spin because it is always attractive. A force based upon a spin-0 field would cause a different deflection of photons, so that's out. A force based upon a spin-2 massless field, however, replicates Einstein's equations (in some appropriate classical limit).
That would be through gravity.Rymer said:Why a space-time warp? How is that produced?
Well, we don't know. But then, why are you singling out gravity here? This question can be asked of any of the four forces we know.Rymer said:What determines the strength and symmetry of the field?
It seems so. We have found no deviation so far.Rymer said:Is gravitational mass always equal to inertial?
The boson which is the quantum of the field is a spin-2 particle. If you don't know what that means, read up a bit on quantum-mechanical spin. Wikipedia is, as usual, a decent place to start (link here).Rymer said:What do you mean by a 'spin-2 field'?
The Higgs field is a theoretical concept in particle physics that is thought to be responsible for giving particles their mass. It is a field that permeates the entire universe and interacts with particles as they move through it.
The existence of the Higgs field was predicted by physicists in the 1960s, but it wasn't until 2012 that scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland were able to confirm its existence through the discovery of the Higgs boson particle.
No, the Higgs field and the Higgs boson are two different concepts. The Higgs field is a theoretical field that is thought to exist throughout the universe, while the Higgs boson is a particle that is created when the Higgs field interacts with other particles.
At the moment, the Higgs field has no direct practical applications. However, its discovery has helped to confirm the Standard Model of particle physics and has provided scientists with a better understanding of the fundamental building blocks of the universe.
The Higgs field is thought to give particles their mass, which is a crucial component in the formation of structures in the universe, such as stars, galaxies, and planets. Without the Higgs field, the universe as we know it would not exist.