What is Higgs boson: Definition and 270 Discussions

The Higgs boson is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. In the Standard Model, the Higgs particle is a massive scalar boson with zero spin, no electric charge, and no colour charge. It is also very unstable, decaying into other particles almost immediately.
It is named after physicist Peter Higgs, who in 1964 along with five other scientists proposed the Higgs mechanism to explain why some particles have mass. (Particles acquire mass in several ways, but a full explanation for all particles had been extremely difficult.) This mechanism required that a spinless particle known as a boson should exist with properties as described by the Higgs Mechanism theory. This particle was called the Higgs boson. A subatomic particle with the expected properties was discovered in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland. The new particle was subsequently confirmed to match the expected properties of a Higgs boson.
On 10 December 2013, two of the physicists, Peter Higgs and François Englert, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their theoretical predictions. Although Higgs's name has come to be associated with this theory (the Higgs mechanism), several researchers between about 1960 and 1972 independently developed different parts of it.
In the mainstream media, the Higgs boson has often been called the "God particle" from the 1993 book The God Particle by Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman, although the nickname is
not endorsed by many physicists.

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  1. bhobba

    B Where Does Mass Come From?

    This is meant for our younger readers who have only seen popular accounts of where mass comes from. They often say it comes from the Higgs boson, which is sort of true. But it is deeper than that. Sabine has given a deeper popular account in the following video: As an aside, forget this...
  2. ohwilleke

    I The Latest Higgs Boson Mass Measurement

    The current Particle Data Group global average measurement for the Higgs boson mass is 125.25 ± 0.17 GeV. The previous combined ATLAS Higgs boson mass measurement (via the Particle Data Group) was 124.86 ± 0.27 GeV from 2018 (using Run 2 data), and the previous combined CMS Higgs boson mass...
  3. Z

    A Higgs boson and its decay width

    hi, I noticed that with higher mass decay width also go higher - but for higgs boson its mass is higher that W and Z boson but its decay width is lower , why?
  4. omerel

    Higgs boson re-discovery from a CERN dataset (for a project)

    Hi everyone! I'm working on a seminar project on elementary particles, and I'm supposed to introduce the LHC and rediscover the Higgs boson from a dataset I got from CERN open source. I don't understand how am I supposed to discover the gap (in the invariant mass diagram) around the Higgs boson...
  5. ohwilleke

    I New Constraints On The Higgs Boson Width

    The New Measurement The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has experimentally limited the "width" of the Standard Model Higgs boson with a rest mass of about 125 GeV to 4.5 + 3.3 - 2.5 MeV, with a maximum value of 10.5 MeV at a 95% confidence level. In the Standard Model, the...
  6. R

    Book Recommendation for learning about the Higgs Boson (layman level)

    Summary: Non-Mathematical Description of the Higgs Boson I seek a recommendation for a book written for the layman describing the physics of the Higgs boson and related topics. Books that I have found tend towards the history leading up to the discovery of the Higgs or biographies of Peter...
  7. PainterGuy

    I Higgs field and Higgs boson

    Hi, I'd request you to keep it simple so it's accessible by a layman. Question 1: Is Higgs field made up of Higgs bosons? Higgs field has a positive value everywhere. Other fields such as electron field, hover around zero though virtual particles come into existence and decay almost...
  8. C

    I Zero spin of Higgs boson? Is it really zero?

    Zero spin of Higgs boson? Is it really zero? Where is the spin (intrinsic angular momentum) of the Higgs boson on so small that we quantify it as having zero spin?I am aware of the reduced plank constant. But I we sure there is nothing in between the reduce Planck’s constant and the zero spin of...
  9. P

    I Is the Higgs field in its present form phlogiston-like?

    Phlogiston lead to the discovery of oxygen but was later on proven to be imaginary. Can the same be said of the quite strange Higgs field and Higgs mechanism following from the strange Mexican hat potential? Is that potential just imaginary? It lead to the discovery of the eponimous particle...
  10. J

    B Does the Higgs Boson really have 0 spin?

    Does the Higgs Boson really have 0 spin or is the spin between 0 and 1/2 x (1.054 571 817... x 10-34 J s)?
  11. S

    B Why Photon & Gluon are Exceptions from Higgs Field

    The photon and the gluon in the Standard Model do not interact with the Higgs field and are hence massless and travel at the speed of light. Is there a simple explanation why these two elementary particles are the exceptions?
  12. Adams2020

    A Higgs particle and non-zero expected value in vacuum

    What does the phrase “Due to Lorentz invariance, only the Higgs particle can have a non-zero expected value in a vacuum” mean?
  13. S

    Rigorous Study of the Higgs Boson - Question

    Summary:: I would like to ask about books and other materials to study in order to understand in a really, really rigorous manner the Higgs field, Higgs boson and other related topics. Answers that are detailed but at the same time precise and to the point would be highly appreciated (please...
  14. The Higgs Discovery Explained - Episode 3.5 | CERN

    The Higgs Discovery Explained - Episode 3.5 | CERN

    In this extra episode of the series we answer a few of the most frequently asked questions from the viewers. You can watch the previous episodes here: https:...
  15. I

    A Predicting the positive parity and zero spin of the Higgs boson?

    Can we predict the positive parity, and zero spin of the Higgs boson from the decay mode: 𝐻 → 𝛾𝛾?
  16. Ranku

    I Higgs Boson: What Gave Quarks & Leptons Mass?

    The Higgs boson with mass couples to quarks and leptons to give them mass. What was the nature of these particles before they acquired mass? Were they virtual particles?
  17. J

    Master from ihep

    i will enter the Institute Of High Energy Physic in Chinese Academy of Science on September in 2019 to start learning about particle physics. My research direction line in search for the decay of Higgs to Zgamma with CMS
  18. F

    A Relation between chirality and spin

    When learning about chirality I was very surprised to find that for QED and QCD the decay modes that would produce 2 particles with the same chirality had a Matrix Element of 0, which I took to mean that angular momentum was being conserved. Even the W only decay into RH antiparticles and LH...
  19. ohwilleke

    I How Much Better Will Top and Higgs Mass Measurements Get?

    The ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) recently released joint annual review papers regarding their measurements of the properties of the top quark and the Higgs boson, including their masses, respectively. The most recent mass measurement of the top quark are 172.51 ±...
  20. T

    I Higgs Boson decay to two Quarks Detected

    https://phys.org/news/2018-08-long-sought-higgs-boson.html
  21. A

    B Why is the Higgs boson considered a boson?

    Bosons are described as force carrier particles and, as I understand it, the Higgs mechanism explains why photons are massless, just as all the carriers of the strong nuclear force, the gluons, whereas the weak force bosons have mass. A peculiar type of field is postulated, the ‘Higgs field’. It...
  22. H

    B The relation between mass,higgs boson, and boson field?

    In school we learn that mass is made of the amount of particles within an object!. but then we have found something called higgs boson and boson field which is said to be responsible for an object mass. I have read how higgs boson and boson field work but I still don't understand how the higgs...
  23. Beyond the Higgs: What's Next for the LHC? - with Harry Cliff

    Beyond the Higgs: What's Next for the LHC? - with Harry Cliff

    Harry Cliff is the Science Museum Fellow of Modern Science, which he reckons might be the only job title which begins and ends with 'science'. He spends half his time searching for signs of new physics at LHCb, one of the four big experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
  24. Beyond the Higgs: What's Next for the LHC? - with Harry Cliff (Question and Answers)

    Beyond the Higgs: What's Next for the LHC? - with Harry Cliff (Question and Answers)

  25. Serra Nova

    B What does the Higgs particle consist of?

    The Higgs particle that were discovered in 2012 - what is it build of?
  26. Souhardya Nandi

    I Can someone explain the Higgs Boson and its significance in particle physics?

    Can anyone shed a bit of light on what a Higgs Boson is, how it was discovered and what its discovery implies for physics ?
  27. ISamson

    B Exploring the Universe's Inflation: What is the Higgs Boson?

    Hello, I have read somewhere that the Higgs Boson particle (or field) is responsible for the inflation of the universe. Does anybody have more information? Thanks.
  28. A

    B Higgs Boson Mass Consequences

    What are the consequences of the experimental value of the Higgs boson mass for theories of multiverse and supersymmetry?
  29. ohwilleke

    B The Latest Higgs Boson Mass Measurements

    It is summer conference season for physicists and one of the highlights this time around is the first set of new Large Hadron Collider Run-2 measurements of the Higgs boson mass. The Status Quo At the end of Run-1 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the combined estimate of the Higgs boson...
  30. J

    A How can gauge symmetry be broken?

    Hello, I was reading about the Higgs mechanism and I must say that I did not really follow the argument of how the gauge symmetry is broken. I think that my problem has to do with the more general question of how does a gauge symmetry get broken in general? Thanks!
  31. W

    A CP Properties of the SM Higgs boson

    The SM Higgs-boson is a CP-even state, as far as I know this is confirmed in the Higgs decay to di Z bosons, so why there are dozen of papers that propose to measure CP quantum number of the Higgs in tau tau final state?, what is the difference between CP in ZZ and tt of Higgs decay ?
  32. Goatman

    I How do physicists know when they’ve found a Higgs boson?

    I know the Higgs field and the capabilities of the Higgs Boson, but I could never understand how physicists concluded the finding of a Higgs Boson
  33. Biscuit

    Exploring the Mysteries of Gravity: From the Higgs Field to Spaghettification

    For my senior project I am writing a paper on the Higgs Boson. Whatever project we decide to do we have to have an accompanying research paper. I am unable to write about anything that I mention in my paper (everything involving the Higgs). What are some related topics that I could do my second...
  34. K

    I Higgs Boson, Electrons and Spin

    I have two questions... I'm sorry for my bad English. - Is it correct to think of the Higgs Boson as a quantization of the Higgs Field, as the photon is the quanta of Electromagnetic Field? - The property we call spin appears when we analyze electrons interacting with a magnetic field. But...
  35. K

    I Clarification of Higgs field, Higgs boson and gravitons

    since gravity under GR has unlimited range the graviton must be massless. since the graviton is massless, the higgs field does not couple to the graviton. If the higgs field did couple to gravitons, it would cause gravitons to have mass, contradicting observation. but the higgs field carries...
  36. ohwilleke

    I Higgs Boson Mass Trending Down At ICHEP

    The latest measurement of the Higgs boson mass from the ICHEP conference (based upon four lepton events measured by CMS) was 124.5 +0.48/-0.46 GeV. This is less than the current global average of about 125.09 +/- 0.24 GeV, which is statistically consistent with the global average but will...
  37. Ranku

    I Instability of the Higgs particle

    In the multiverse paradigm, the Higgs particle is said to be unstable. What does the instability of the Higgs particle mean? Could it spontaneously disappear? What are the conditions for something like that to happen? And what would be the fate of the universe if that were to happen - keeping in...
  38. dschwie

    I Higgs particle vs. Higgs field

    Does it make sense to say that the Higgs boson is an excitation in the Higgs field in much the same way that a fermion such as an electron is an excitation in the electromagnetic field? I am trying to understand the difference between the Higgs field, which is everywhere, and the Higgs boson...
  39. zdroide

    B H boson is 125 GeV, super symmetry, multiverse not possible?

    What other theories this number make impossible or improbable. When final number was given I hear some older physicist saying for one " 40 years of works gone" second grinding "only 30 for me!" We are ask to follow establish science. Seem to me that lots of theories was built on other's ones and...
  40. KarminValso1724

    B How were the properties of the Higgs boson accuratly predicted?

    What I mean by this is how were the laws of quantum mechanics used to predict that the higgs boson would decay into 2 photons or 4 electrons. I understand that the higgs boson transmits the higgs field, but why would a particle that transmits the higgs field have to decay in that wayand not some...
  41. Peter25samaha

    A The higgs boson discovery

    What can a theoretical physicist discover something new about the higgs boson . This is for experimentalist but can a theoretical physicist discover anything new about the higgs boson ? And what peter higgs discovered other than detected it . He is a theoretical physicist did he wrote a new...
  42. C

    B Does the Higgs boson only exist when created in LHC?

    Greetings, I have read seemingly contradictory things regarding the Higgs boson: that they permeate all of space and that it was created at extremely high energies in the LHC. I just heard a scientist say the Higgs field is full of HIggs bosons. So does the Higgs boson occur naturally or not...
  43. Natskyge

    How can the Higgs boson have mass?

    So this may be just me being stupid. Anyway, so i was reading about the higgs and i read it has been found in LHC to have a mass of 125 Gev, according to their expriments. Now here comes what i don't understand, how can the particle that gives mass have mass, and wouldn't that cause the higgs...
  44. arupel

    The Higgs Boson and General Relativity

    "The presence of this field, now believed to be confirmed, explains why some fundamental particles have mass when based on the symmetries controlling their interactions they should be massless." (wiki) It would seem, to myself, a novice, that the Higgs field and its corresponding particle, if...
  45. Q

    Higgs Boson Decays into Dark MAtter

    I recently read this article about how the Higgs Boson could decay into Dark Matter particles. Why is this not being taken seriously, there must be something, and I am not a physicist, just a ninth grade student, so why is this either a good theory or bad theory? Thanks in advance! Here is the...
  46. onion3000

    Does Absolute Zero Equal Zero Weight?

    If interactions with the Higgs field make something have more mass, and if movement creates interactions with the field, then wouldn't something at absolute zero have no weight (zero speed, so no interaction with the Higgs field)?
  47. Eli137

    Mass of Higgs Boson: 125 GeV: How Do Particles Create Mass?

    As you may know, the mass of the Higgs Boson is 125 GeV. My question is, "How can the particles themselves that create mass by interacting with others have mass?"
  48. H

    Scalar fields and the Higgs boson

    This is more of a QFT question, so the moderator may want to move it to another forum. The simplest example of a QFT that I learned was the scalar field; in Sakurai's 1967 textbook. I know the Higgs is a J=0 particle. Is it described by the simple scalar field discussed in Sakurai's text? I ask...
  49. Q

    The Higgs Boson and Dark Matter

    I have been looking into Dark Matter recently and how we know really little about it to even try to identify what it is clearly. But Dark Matter obiously has mass which means that in some way it must be interacting with the Higgs Field. So could studying the Higgs Boson and comparing its...
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