Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the question of why the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operated at 3.5 TeV energy levels to discover the Higgs boson, which has a mass of 125 GeV. Participants explore the relationship between collider energy and the likelihood of producing and detecting the Higgs particle, considering both theoretical and practical aspects of particle collisions.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- One participant questions the necessity of the LHC's high energy, suggesting a misunderstanding of the relationship between the Higgs mass and collider energy.
- Another participant explains that the 3.5 TeV energy refers to the protons' collision energy, but partons within the protons carry only a fraction of this energy, making Higgs production less likely.
- A subsequent reply confirms that while it is technically possible to produce the Higgs at lower energies, it is highly improbable due to the nature of particle collisions and the dominance of other particle production.
- Further, a participant notes that higher energy increases the probability of collisions resulting in Higgs production.
- Another participant mentions that a different collider, the Tevatron, could have potentially found the Higgs in a specific decay mode, but would have required an impractically long operational time to do so.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants generally agree that while it is theoretically possible to find the Higgs at lower energies, the likelihood is very low, and the discussion reflects a mix of understanding and uncertainty regarding the practical implications of collider energy levels.
Contextual Notes
The discussion highlights the complexities of parton energy distribution within protons and the challenges of detecting rare events amidst numerous other particle collisions, without resolving the specifics of energy thresholds or detection methods.