CERN scientists confident in "God particle" discovery
PHOTO CAPTION: Peter Higgs, who first theorized the Higgs particle in the 1960s, shed tears at CERN's announcement of the discovered particle. AFP PHOTO / POOL / DENIS BALIBOUSE
After years of searching, CERN scientists have announced that they have discovered a new subatomic particle that is most likely the Higgs particle. The announcement was made in Geneva on the morning of 4 July.
“I can confirm that a particle has been discovered that is consistent with the Higgs boson theory,” said John Womersley, chief executive of Britain’s Science & Technology Facilities Council.
The results, which are based off 2011 and 2012 data, were labelled preliminary. The 2012 data is still being studied and a full report will come out around the end of July.
“This is indeed a new particle. We know it must be a boson and it’s the heaviest boson ever found,” said CMS experiment spokesperson Joe Incandela. “The implications are very significant and it is precisely for this reason that we must be extremely diligent in all of our studies and cross-checks.”
The announcement came after a video dated for 4 July was leaked on 3 July by the CERN laboratory. The video included a clip of Incandela stating that the lab has “observed a new particle.” The leak was blamed on a technical glitch and was taken down shortly after.
The Higgs boson, named after Edinburgh University physicist Peter Higgs and often referred to as the “God particle,” has been the most sought after scientific discovery. The particle could explain how the universe was formed and would be proof of an invisible energy field that fills the vacuum of space. The Higgs boson would be the final puzzle piece to the Standard Model of Particle Physics, a theoretical model that describes the fundamental particles and forces that control the universe.
CERN will continue to research the precise nature of the particle discovered and its significance for understanding the universe. Continued studies will determine whether the particle is, as expected, the Higgs boson.
“We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature,” said Rolf Heuer, CERN director general. “The discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson opens the way to more detailed studies, requiring larger statistics, which will pin down the new particle’s properties, and is likely to shed light on other mysteries of our universe.”
Heuer added during the announcement that, despite the continued research that must be done, “we can be very, very optimistic.”
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