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as i understand it the higgs field is a spin-0 scalar field that gives mass to elementry particles. How is it a scalar field? I thought it was homogenous.
Is it possible you're confusing the Higgs field with the Higgs boson? The Higgs field is a uniform background scalar field whose existence permits other particles to have mass in an electroweak gauge invariant manner. The Higgs boson is an excitation of the Higgs field. Since the Higgs field is a scalar field, the Higgs boson has spin 0.as i understand it the higgs field is a spin-0 scalar field that gives mass to elementry particles. How is it a scalar field? I thought it was homogenous.
Like other components of the Standard Model, Higg's fields are manual insertions [mathematical additions] individually tailored with the specific properties needed to provide different particles with observed mass; We need a mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking to bring forth mass; The Higgs Field provides such a tool. Symmetry transformations are generated on Hilbert space of states by unitary operators.The technically easiest way to achieve SSB in an interacting field theory is to introduce an effective scalar field and adjust its phenomenological potential so that it has a symmetry-breaking
MArkM: The weak force is mediated by three massive particles, called the W+, W-, and Z bosons. One important aspect of the Standard Model is electroweak symmetry - at a sufficiently high temperature (at a time immediately after the big bang), the weak force becomes indiscernible from the electromagnetic force. This means that the W and Z bosons were initially massless. Breaking this symmetry is the job of the Higgs field. Spin 1 particles like the W and Z bosons have at least two degrees of freedom. One way a massless particle could gain mass is by the absorption of a scalar (spin 0) particle as its longitudional mode (as it's second degree of freedom).
A scalar particle that does this is called a Nambu-Goldstone bosonUOTE]
edit: I see Bill_K posted while I was composing: "The Higgs boson is an excitation of the Higgs field."
yes...
so this is what we detect locally, a 'particle' meaning a quanta/excitation of the theoretical field.
A scalar field is a mathematical concept used in physics to describe a quantity that has a single value at each point in space. This means that the value of the field does not change with direction or orientation.
The Higgs field is considered a scalar field because it has a single value at each point in space. In other words, it is a fundamental field that does not change with direction or orientation.
The Higgs field gives particles mass through a process called the Higgs mechanism. As particles interact with the Higgs field, they acquire mass through the Higgs field's influence on their energy levels.
The Higgs field is important in the Standard Model because it helps explain how particles acquire mass. It also plays a crucial role in maintaining the symmetry of the theory and allows for the existence of the Higgs boson, which was discovered in 2012.
No, the Higgs field is not the only scalar field in the universe. There are many other scalar fields that exist, such as the inflaton field, which is thought to have played a role in the early expansion of the universe.