Context:
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which hosts the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), recently announced that scientists at the organisation found the first evidence of the rare process by which the Higgs boson decays into a Z boson and a photon.
Relevance:
GS III: Science and Technology
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Higgs boson
- Standard Model of Elementary Particle Physics
- About Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
About Higgs boson:
- The Higgs boson is a fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, which gives mass to other particles.
- It is one of the elementary particles in the Standard Model of particle physics.
- Sometimes referred to as the “God particle,” it plays a crucial role in subatomic physics.
- Proposed in 1964 by Peter Higgs, François Englert, and others to explain particle mass.
- Discovered on July 4, 2012, at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Features:
- The Higgs boson has a mass of 125 billion electron volts, making it significantly more massive than a proton.
- It has zero charge and zero spin, distinguishing it as the only elementary particle with no spin.
- It acts as a force carrier during particle interactions.
Standard Model of Elementary Particle Physics:
- The standard model of elementary particles is a theoretical framework in physics that explains the particles of matter and their interactions.
- It represents the elementary particles as connected through mathematical symmetry, similar to bilateral symmetry between two objects.
- The model utilizes mathematical groups that result from continuous transformations between different particles.
- It suggests a finite number of fundamental particles represented by characteristic “eigen” states of these groups.
- Experimental observations have confirmed the existence of particles predicted by the model, including the Z boson.
- The most recent discovery, made in 2012, was the Higgs boson, which is responsible for giving mass to the heavier particles.
About Large Hadron Collider (LHC):
- The LHC is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.
- Located near Geneva, Switzerland, spanning the border of France and Switzerland.
- Built by CERN, it conducts experiments with highly energized particles.
- It can recreate conditions similar to the early universe moments after the Big Bang.
- Scientists collide high-energy subatomic particles and observe their interactions.
- Notably, the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 was a significant breakthrough at the LHC.
-Source: Indian Express
