The current consensus among physicists is that there is a high level of confidence in the existence of the Higgs boson, particularly around the 125 GeV mass range, despite the need for more data to achieve a 5-sigma confidence level. Signals have been detected across multiple search channels and detectors, suggesting that the observations are unlikely to be mere coincidences under the background-only model. However, there is minor evidence indicating that some branching ratios may not align perfectly with Standard Model predictions, which could be clarified with additional data. Overall, the scientific community leans towards the belief that the Higgs boson exists, albeit with some uncertainties regarding its exact properties.
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While this might be true for channels without direct mass measurements, the two-photon channel should not be affected by this. This plot from ATLAS shows some peak-like structure which is already visible by eye.kurros said:or a really unfortunate and strange screwup in the background modelling.
If you ask the scientists directly involved in the seach, they will tell you something about "it is too early to say this". But the usual opinion seems to be that this is the Higgs at ~125 GeV.SeventhSigma said:Are they fairly confident [...]