Display of a candidate event for the production of two W+ bosons via vector-boson scattering, followed by their decay into two muons and two muon neutrinos. The muons are represented by the red lines in the inner detector and the muon spectrometer, and the two jets by the yellow cones. The direction of the missing transverse energy associated with the two neutrinos is indicated by the dashed grey line. Credit: ATLAS/CERN
What Is the Higgs Mechanism
First proposed in 1964, the Higgs mechanism explains how particles acquire mass by interacting with the Higgs field. When the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012, it confirmed that this mysterious field does exist.
But confirming the field was just the beginning. Scientists have since been eager to understand how this mechanism works at a deeper level, especially in vector boson scattering—a type of interaction where the W and Z bosons (force-carrying particles) scatter off each other.
The ATLAS Experiment: Probing the Nature of Mass
During LHC Run 2 (2015–2018), the ATLAS team studied proton-proton collisions at an energy of 13 TeV. They specifically looked for same-sign W boson scattering events where both W bosons were longitudinally polarized—meaning their spin was aligned in the direction they were moving.
Why is this important? Because longitudinal polarization is a signature of massive particles, and seeing it in scattering events offers direct evidence of how the Higgs field operates during particle interactions.
“This result shows how crucial the Higgs boson is in keeping our universe stable at high energies,” says the ATLAS team.
Why This Matters: Validating the Standard Model—and Beyond
This discovery strengthens confidence in the electroweak symmetry breaking theory and the Standard Model as a whole. But even more exciting is what lies ahead.
The next big step? Studying how the Higgs boson interacts with itself, which could expose new physics beyond the Standard Model. These self-interactions are a primary goal of the High-Luminosity LHC, set to begin operation around 2030.
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A New Chapter in Particle Physics
The ATLAS experiment’s recent findings bring us a step closer to unlocking one of the universe’s greatest mysteries: how particles get their mass.
These discoveries are a testament to human curiosity and the limitless potential of science. As we continue exploring the quantum world, we may soon uncover truths that change how we see the cosmos forever.
💬 What Do You Think?
Are we on the brink of a new era in physics?
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