The basics of the Higgs Boson

A very brief history lesson.

The Higgs boson was proposed in 1964 by Peter Higgs, François Englert, and other theorists. to explain why certain particles have mass. Scientists confirmed its existence in 2012 through the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland.

What is the Higgs Field?

To understand what a Higgs Boson is we need to understand what the Higgs Field is. 

We can describe it as an invisible force field that pervades throughout the whole universe. Just like air, we cannot see it but we can detect it using sophisticated equipment.

You might ask why is the Higgs Field important to know, well it is all around us and gives the fundamental particles a mass. A fundamental particles are particles that cannot be broken down, the basic building blocks of the universe, this includes electrons, up and down quarks.

Our understanding of the fundamental particles comes from the Standard Model. It splits of the particles into two groups fermions ( matter particles ) and bosons ( force particles ). We can order these particles according to their properties, such as mass. 

Scientists didn't know where the mass came from or why certain particles had specific masses. They believe that when particles move through the Higgs Field, it interacts and now have a mass. The more the particle interacts the greater the mass. 

How does the Higgs Field affect mass?

Some particles notice the field more than others and are more affected by it. 

Imagine dropping a piece of paper and a small rock off the top of a tall building. They both have the same mass, but the paper will fall much slower as it is more affected by air resistance, due to its internal properties ( surface area in this case ). The small rock is less affected by the air around it because of its internal properties.

The Higgs Field works in the same way. Different particles interact in varying degrees. Photons will pass straight through as if it isn't even there ( like the small rock ), while some will be slowed down a lot ( like the paper ). The amount by which a fundamental particle is slowed down by the Higgs Field is how we define mass. As photons do not interact with the Higgs Field at all they do not have a mass.  By the strength of the interactions between the field and particle, as the result a mass is formed which in turn affects how fast that certain particles can travel.

How can we detect the Higgs Field?

This is where the Higgs Boson comes in.

So now we have explained what the Higgs Field is and how it affects mass but what does this have to do with the Higgs Boson?

Imagine a cherry in a milkshake is a particle moving through the Higgs Field ( the shake ). The shake gives the cherry its mass as it is the Higgs Field in this scenario. It takes an excitation of the Higgs Field for a Higgs Boson to be produced. With the milshake-cherry analogy an excitation could be if i transfer energy to the cherry by dropping it into the shake. The splash of the milshake is the Higgs Boson. This is what is taught in quantum mechanics. 

All particles are excitations of different fields.

So we can say the Higgs Boson is an excitation of the Higgs Field. Even though we cannot detect the Higgs Field with our senses discovering the Higgs Boson shows that the Higgs Field exists. 

Is the Higgs Boson really the Higgs Boson? 

It would be great if we just knew the boson we were detecting was a Higgs Boson, however it isn't that simple but there are ways we can prove that it is in fact a Higgs Boson. How? By measuring its properties, such as speed and direction.

The Higgs Boson only exists for a short period of time before it decays into smaller and lighter particles. By measuring the properties of these particles we can determine the properties of the boson. 

The Standard Model predicts how often and in what way the Higgs Boson would decay into lighter particles. By comparing the data collected we can be sure whether this particle is one predicted by the standard model or fits into another theoretical model. 

If it does fit into another model this would be very exciting to scientists as it would mean the Standard Model is flawed. It is how science advances, by tweaking our models to describe phenomena.

Glossary.

Standard Model -  A very successful theory that describes and predicts all the matter particles' properties and 3 out the 4 of the force particles. It cannot describe the force of gravity. 

Excitation -  Generating a magnetic field through and electrical current. 

Quarks - Sub-atomic particles which make up neutrons and protons. They are two types and up quark and a down quark. Protons have two up and and down, neutrons have two down and one up.

Photons - They are a particle that carry an electromagnetic force, they have no mass.

Notes.

Hey! I hope my explanation made some sort of sense lol. If i got anything wrong, want to ask a question or want to make a suggestion of what I should write about, comment. I will write about literally anything. History? Science? Politics? Pop culture? A random show? All yes.