CERN particle announcement related to dark matter / energy?

[Lino]

Hi, I was at a presentation re there recent anouncement by CERN, and the distinction between matter / dark matter / dark eneregy (matter versus the 96% of the universe that we don't know about) was repeatedly made. Given the findings relate to a particle with mass / properties not previously known, does this (likely) mean that the particle is more related to dark matter / energy than to 'normal matter' as we currently refer to it?

I appreciate that this is still under investigation but any thoughts / insights would be appreciated.

Regards,

Noel.

 

[Mark M]

Are you referring to CERN's announcement regarding the Higgs? If so, it has no relevance to dark matter. The Standard Model provides no candidates for dark matter. The Higgs is a normal boson, and is not in abundance in the universe. The Higgs Mechanism gives fermions mass with it's vacuum expectation value, whereas the Higgs boson is an excitation of that Higgs field.

Also, the Higgs is a complex dublet under SU(2). That is, it interacts through the weak force. Dark matter would not do this.

 

[Chalnoth]

Also, the Higgs is a complex dublet under SU(2). That is, it interacts through the weak force. Dark matter would not do this.

I believe that many dark matter candidates do actually interact through the weak force.

Edit: But you're right, the Higgs has little to nothing to do with dark matter, in part because it decays in a tiny fraction of a second. Dark matter hangs around for billions of years, at the very least.

 

[Lino]

Thanks Mark & Chalnoth. That's what I meant and it makes sense.

... the Higgs boson is an excitation of that Higgs field.
...

Does this mean that the (approx) 125GeV value only applies in this state?

Regards,

Noel.

 

[Drakkith]

Thanks Mark & Chalnoth. That's what I meant and it makes sense.



Does this mean that the (approx) 125GeV value only applies in this state?

Regards,

Noel.

I believe particles are considered to be excitations of the field, and if so then yes, it would only apply to that state when the particle actually exists before decaying.

 

[Mark M]

Thanks Mark & Chalnoth. That's what I meant and it makes sense.



Does this mean that the (approx) 125GeV value only applies in this state?

Regards,

Noel.

Yes. In quantum field theory, every particle has a corresponding field, and every field has a corresponding particle excitation. For the electromagnetic field, there is the photon. The gluon is an excitation of the gluon field. All fermions have associated field, too. Similarly, the Higgs field's excitation is the Higgs boson.

 

[Lino]

Thanks all. Much appreciated.

Regards,

Noel.