Post on 12-Jul-2020
Searching for that God(-Damn) Particle: the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider
Dr Victoria MartinUniversity of Edinburgh
http://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/higgshttp://www.atlas.ch/
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W Z g γForce Carriers
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HHiggs Boson
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W Z g γForce Carriers
HHiggs Boson
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
1.Take two very high energy protons (fresh from CERN).
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
1.Take two very high energy protons (fresh from CERN).
2.Smash together.
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
1.Take two very high energy protons (fresh from CERN).
2.Smash together.3.One in 1010 collisions will form a Higgs particle.
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
1.Take two very high energy protons (fresh from CERN).
2.Smash together.3.One in 1010 collisions will form a Higgs particle.
4.Once formed, the Higgs particle will decay after 10−22 seconds.
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
1.Take two very high energy protons (fresh from CERN).
2.Smash together.3.One in 1010 collisions will form a Higgs particle.
4.Once formed, the Higgs particle will decay after 10−22 seconds.
5.Assemble a highly sophisticated, state-of-the-art detector around the collision point.
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
1.Take two very high energy protons (fresh from CERN).
2.Smash together.3.One in 1010 collisions will form a Higgs particle.
4.Once formed, the Higgs particle will decay after 10−22 seconds.
5.Assemble a highly sophisticated, state-of-the-art detector around the collision point.
6.Observe the particles produced from the Higgs boson decay.
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A Higgs Boson Recipe
1.Take two very high energy protons (fresh from CERN).
2.Smash together.3.One in 1010 collisions will form a Higgs particle.
4.Once formed, the Higgs particle will decay after 10−22 seconds.
5.Assemble a highly sophisticated, state-of-the-art detector around the collision point.
6.Observe the particles produced from the Higgs boson decay.
7.Repeat 25 million times a second for ~1.5 years.
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https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/pub/AtlasPublic/HiggsPublicResults//Hgg-FixedScale-Short2.gif
https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/pub/AtlasPublic/HiggsPublicResults//4l-FixedScale-NoMuProf2.gif
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The Higgs Mechanism1. Physicists at a conference reception; all free to move around the room.
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The Higgs Mechanism1. Physicists at a conference reception; all free to move around the room.
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The Higgs Mechanism1. Physicists at a conference reception; all free to move around the room.
2. In comes a noble prize winner; everyone wants to speak to him.The physicists crowd around him. The noble laureate is not free to move around; he has gained inertia by interacting with the crowd.
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The Higgs Mechanism1. Physicists at a conference reception; all free to move around the room.
2. In comes a noble prize winner; everyone wants to speak to him.The physicists crowd around him. The noble laureate is not free to move around; he has gained inertia by interacting with the crowd.
This is analogous to how the particles acquire mass: by interacting with the Higgs field. Laureates of different popularity gain different masses.
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The Higgs Boson3. The next evening; physicists enjoying another drink.A rumour enters the room: the keynote speaker tomorrow will announce the discovery of a new particle!
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The Higgs Boson3. The next evening; physicists enjoying another drink.A rumour enters the room: the keynote speaker tomorrow will announce the discovery of a new particle!
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The Higgs Boson3. The next evening; physicists enjoying another drink.A rumour enters the room: the keynote speaker tomorrow will announce the discovery of a new particle!
4. The physicists gather together to spread the rumour. The group of physicist acquire inertia.
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The Higgs Boson3. The next evening; physicists enjoying another drink.A rumour enters the room: the keynote speaker tomorrow will announce the discovery of a new particle!
4. The physicists gather together to spread the rumour. The group of physicist acquire inertia.
The clustering of the field of physicists is as if a new massive particle has formed. This is the Higgs boson.
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