The universe and the Higgs boson
After the installation of the Great Androniccollider (LHC) and the first failed attempts to start the installation, the public began to feel that the LHC carries a potential danger. Nuclear physicists hoped to study the behavior of particles and new discoveries in physics, and many unfamiliar with the topic people, on the contrary, listened to the science fiction writers who painted various disasters in their works (the appearance of a black hole, a destructive explosion, etc.). However, after a time after the beginning of a series of experiments, it became clear that many of the dangers proved unfounded.
But in the summer of 2012, when it was announced that,that in carrying out one of the experiments, the Higgs boson was registered by two sensors, even the most convinced skeptics reconsidered their attitude to the BAC project. Note that scientists are very cautious about the new particle, avoiding loud statements. The fact that it was the Higgs boson that was discovered was not confirmed by direct text. It is pointed out that the new particle is very similar to the prospective boson, but additional studies are needed for final conclusions.
What is a "Higgs boson"? The standard model (SM) of elementary particle physics, with the help of which at present the properties of the whole material are explained, is based on four fundamental laws. Absolutely everything in nature is subject to four types of interactions - strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational. Some vector particles have been detected and proven. Thus, a strong interaction is realized through gluons; the bosons Z and W are responsible for the weak; and gamma quanta are involved in the transfer of electromagnetic radiation. For gravity, in turn, ephemeral gravitons meet (perhaps they will soon be discovered). Based on the calculations it follows that in the early universe, which appeared immediately after the Big Bang, all particles had no mass, and the interaction was symmetrical electroweak. However, observations show that this does not exist - every particle (except for gluons and photons) has a certain rest mass. Obviously there is a contradiction between practice and theory.
To reconcile the theoretical calculations, there wasa hypothesis is advanced about the existence of yet another fundamental element, known as a particle of a god or a Higgs boson. Due to its influence, most of the elementary particles have acquired a rest mass now registered. It is believed that the Higgs boson forms around itself a certain field that affects other particles. The Higgs field permeates the entire Universe, slowing down the particles and giving them mass. It can be thought of as a thick jelly, in which particles convert part of their energy into mass. By the way, the name of the boson was due to Peter Higgs, who is the "father" of the boson hypothesis.
It is enough just to register thisparticle - and the Standard Model will be fully confirmed. However, the difficulty lies in the fact that mathematical calculations do not give exact data about the mass of the boson or its energy. In other words, when performing experiments with high-energy particles, physicists have to cover a huge range of possible values (10-1000 GeV). In addition, based on the theoretical properties of the boson, it exists a billionth of a second, almost instantaneously decaying into lighter constituent particles. Therefore, the particle of the god can be registered only indirectly - on the remnants. In the LHC, two particles were accelerated to speeds close to 300,000 km / s and collided. In this case, phenomena characteristic of the Higgs boson were recorded. However, a number of more precise experiments will be required before final conclusions can be drawn.
