Is the graviton a different particle from the higgs boson

In summary, the graviton is a particle that mediates the gravitational force and is massless. The Higgs boson is a particle that creates or generates the masses in all other massive particles. The Higgs boson is not required, just the Higgs Mechanism. Gravitons are theoretical artefacts based on analogies between quantizing the electromagnetic field and quantizing the gravitational field.
  • #1
filegraphy
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0
I was reading this book that separated the graviton from the higgs boson. Can I get some help anything works for me.
 
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  • #2
Well, to start, the graviton is spin 2, the Higgs is spin 0.
Then, the graviton is massless, the Higgs (if it exists) is very massive, much more than a proton.
Third, very roughly speaking, the graviton transmits gravitational force,
the Higgs field (related to the Higgs particle) creates or generates the masses in all other massive particles.
All of the above is a little to a lot oversimplified.

Jim Graber
 
  • #3
To simplify the above further, yes it is two completely different particles. performing two entirely different parts in particle physics.
 
  • #4
So would the Higgs boson be a force carrying particle even if it were massive? What is the function of the Higgs boson? Is the graviton the force carrying particle for gravity?
 
  • #5
filegraphy said:
So would the Higgs boson be a force carrying particle even if it were massive? What is the function of the Higgs boson? Is the graviton the force carrying particle for gravity?

The Higgs boson would mediate a force of sorts, but no one gives it a name. It's just part of the "Electroweak Force". Its force is similar to that of the "Z boson" (with some technical differences).

And yes, the "graviton" is the particle that mediates the gravitational force.
 
  • #6
The Higgs field is "decomposed" into two parts
a) a constant, non-fluctuating classical vacuum expectation value responsible for the masses of W, Z and the fermions
b) the fluctuations around this vacuum expectation value which appear as Higgs bosons carrying a kind of "force" (as blechman said)
 
  • #7
They are certainly two separate and different theoretical particles; neither has been proved experimentally. There is hope that the Large Hadron Collider may confirm the existence of the Higgs boson. The Higgs boson is I think the only standard model particle that has not been detected experimentally; gravity is not part of the standard model.
 
  • #8
I would add that the Higgs Boson is not required, just the Higgs Mechanism, and as Naty1 pointed out, there is no evidence of it, and certainly no evidence of gravitons. The Higgs would be nice to find however...
 
  • #9
Some further remarks:

As nismaratwork said the particle itself is not so relevant, the mechanism of spontaneous breaking of the electro-weak gauge symmetry is what matters. Unfortunately there are no fully viable Higgs-less alternatives, but the community is working on them, just to have a fallback strategy if the LJC disproves the existence of the Higgs.

One must distinguish gravitons and gravitational waves. The latter one are required by GR and there are indirect results indicating their existence. Gravitons are theoretical artefacts based on analogies between quantizing the electromagnetic field (which gives us the photon) and quantizing the gravitational field. It could work that way, but it is also possible that quantizing gravity is totally different from quantizing other fields; therefore this does not necessarily mean that the graviton is required by nature.
 
  • #10
So if the Higgs boson were massive, following relativity, it would be a force carrying particle traveling the speed of light causing it to have infinite mass. I thought a massive object cannot travel at the speed of light or else it would have infinite mass. Something is wrong with this picture.
 
  • #11
filegraphy said:
So if the Higgs boson were massive, following relativity, it would be a force carrying particle traveling the speed of light causing it to have infinite mass. I thought a massive object cannot travel at the speed of light or else it would have infinite mass. Something is wrong with this picture.

Force carrying particles do not necessarily travel at the speed of light. Just like any other type of particle, that's only if they're massless.
 
  • #12
filegraphy said:
So if the Higgs boson were massive, following relativity, it would be a force carrying particle traveling the speed of light causing it to have infinite mass. I thought a massive object cannot travel at the speed of light or else it would have infinite mass. Something is wrong with this picture.

particles traveling at the speed of light do not have infinite mass! you're think of the old and antiquated idea of "relativistic mass" which we no longer use. whenever we refer to "mass" we always mean "rest mass", that is, the energy of the particle when it's at rest:

[tex]E^2=p^2c^2 + m^2c^4[/tex]

So mass is the amount of energy the particle has when p=0.

You can prove that when the mass vanishes (in the sense I am saying here), then the particle is traveling at the speed of light (think photon!). When the mass does NOT vanish, you can prove that it would take an infinite amount of energy to get the particle's velocity up to the speed of light. That's where the "infinite energy" comes in.
 
  • #13
the_house said:
Force carrying particles do not necessarily travel at the speed of light. Just like any other type of particle, that's only if they're massless.

also, what he said! :wink:
 
  • #14
So the Higgs boson is a massive force carrying particle. It travels less than the speed of light. what force or energy does it carry?
 
  • #15
as i said above, it carried a force similar to the force carried by the Z boson. It doesn't have a name, it's just lumped into the "Electroweak force"
 
  • #16
The Higgs can turn fermion species into each other; or it can mediate fermion-antifermion annihilation into gauge bosons.
 
  • #17
So how are we able to combine the photon (electromagnetic force) with the W and Z bosons (weak nuclear force). Would this create the Higgs boson.
 
  • #18
No.

The simplest way to understand how particles interact with each other is to look at the Feynman diagrams. You will see that there is no direct interaction between the photon and the Higgs (no photon-Higgs-vertex).
 
  • #19
filegraphy said:
Is the graviton a different particle from the higgs boson

In principle yes, but its possible you are asking if Santa and the Easter bunny are different people.
 
  • #20
Ok thanks. This is making a little more sense now. I appreciate it.
 

1. What is the difference between the graviton and the Higgs boson?

The graviton is a hypothetical particle that is thought to mediate the force of gravity in quantum theory. The Higgs boson is a particle that is responsible for giving other particles mass in the Standard Model of particle physics. So, while both particles play a role in the fundamental forces of the universe, they have different functions and properties.

2. Are the graviton and the Higgs boson the same thing?

No, the graviton and the Higgs boson are not the same thing. The graviton is a theoretical particle that has not yet been discovered, while the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider.

3. Can the Higgs boson be converted into a graviton?

No, the Higgs boson and the graviton are two distinct particles with different properties. The Higgs boson is a massive particle, while the graviton is thought to be a massless particle. Therefore, they cannot be converted into one another.

4. How do scientists study the graviton and the Higgs boson?

Scientists study the graviton and the Higgs boson through experiments at particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider. By colliding particles at high speeds, scientists can observe the resulting particles and their properties, including the potential existence of the graviton or the behavior of the Higgs boson.

5. Will the discovery of the graviton change our understanding of the Higgs boson?

The discovery of the graviton, if it occurs, could potentially change our understanding of the Higgs boson and its role in the universe. However, as the graviton is still a theoretical particle, it is not yet clear how it may impact our current understanding of the Higgs boson.

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