What exactly is the Higgs particle? Why do thousands of scientists around the world spend billions of dollars and are looking for it for 50 years? It is hailed as the “last piece of the particle physics standard model”, but why is it finally discovered, scientists say this is the new beginning of human exploration of elementary particles? Why do Chinese scientists want to build the next generation of ring-shaped electron-positron colliders to "mass production" it? Why is this a rare opportunity for China's high-energy physics research and even national development?
Through the following ten questions and answers, I hope that you can further understand the "Higgs particle" and "ring positive and negative electron collider".
1. What is the “standard model” of particle physics?
The "standard model" of particle physics is a theory that describes the basic composition of the material world (basic particles) and their interactions. It was gradually improved on the basis of weak unified theory and quantum chromodynamics in the 1960s and 1970s. Physicists Steven Weinberg, Abdus Salam, and Sheldom Lee Glaschow are the founders of the standard model.
The model divides the basic particles into three categories: quark, lepton and boson, a total of 62 species, which were later confirmed by high-energy physics experiments.
Schematic diagram of particle physics standard model
The Higgs particle predicted by the standard model is a boson with zero spin. The related Higgs mechanism provides a dynamic interpretation of the origin of the mass of the elementary particles and is therefore one of the cornerstones of the entire standard model. If the Higgs particle does not exist, it will become a major flaw in the standard model.
2. What is the Higgs particle? Why is it called "God Particles"?
The Higgs particle is a spin-zero boson predicted by the particle physics standard model, named after the British theoretical physicist Peter Higgs. Some of the other elementary particles in the standard model are inerted by the action of the Higgs field, which ultimately forms mass. Therefore, it can be said that the Higgs mechanism has laid a quality foundation for the formation of the material world. The basic particles have the mass to produce gravity, which will form the universe and life. In the past few decades, the search for Higgs particles has been the most important goal of many large-scale high-energy particle physics experiments.
Leon Max Lederman, winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics, wrote in his popular science book "God Particles: If the universe is the answer, what is the problem?" For the first time, the Higgs particle is called "God particle" to emphasize its importance. Since then, the media has used this term and is widely accepted by the public.
3. What is the Higgs field and the Higgs mechanism?
In simple terms, the Higgs field is an invisible energy field that spreads throughout the universe; the Higgs mechanism is the mass production mechanism of elementary particles. In the Higgs mechanism, the Higgs field causes the spontaneous symmetry of the weak electric norm symmetry, giving mass to the norm boson and fermion that transmit weak interactions. The Higgs particle is the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, which acquires mass through self-interaction.
According to the particle physics standard model and the Big Bang theory, the universe originated from a big bang, and countless positive and negative particles were simultaneously produced. The lepton and quark obtained the mass through the interaction with the Higgs field. These particles form a substance that forms a galaxy through long-term evolution and eventually forms the material world of today.
In 1993, the British Minister of Science and Technology had challenged scientists to explain the Higgs mechanism to him in a single page. He received a total of 117 works, including the interpretation of David J. Miller, a physicist at University College London in the UK.
Miller likened the Higgs field to a uniformly dispersed group of politicians, comparing a basic particle of no quality to former British Prime Minister Margaret Hilda Thatcher. Ordinary people can walk through the room at will, just like a photon. But Mrs. Thatcher’s presence will surely attract a lot of attention: people will surround her, slowing her speed and getting her “quality”. This analogy illustrates how elementary particles without mass can be obtained by interacting with the Higgs field.
I hope u enjoyed this questions, if u want more please check part 2