Econintersect: In 2012 scientists at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire – European Council for Nuclear Research) obtained a lot of attention when they discovered the existence of the Higgs Boson, a theoretical (until then) particle which was predicted to exist by what is called the Standard Model of physics. Because it’s existence was the key to the validity of the Standard Model it had come to be known as the ‘God Particle’. In 2013 Peter Higgs and Francois Englert received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their theoretical work in 1960 which predicted the Higgs Boson. In 2014 (just published) research has determined that the 2012 work lacked sufficient precision to identify the Higgs Boson.
The new paper written by Alexander Belyaev, Matthew S. Brown, Roshan Foadi, and Mads T. Frandsen and published in Physical Review D, has determined that the 2012 observations are also consistent with another class of Higgs particles called “techni-Higgs”. The characteristics of this type of particle do not support the Standard Model and would require a reformulation of work aimed at defining the “Theory of Everything”. Further measurements are required to resolve this uncertainty, according to the researchers.
If the observations are confirmed to be techni-Higgs bosons rather than Higgs bosons then there is at least one fundamental force not yet defined. The Standard Model is based on the existence of four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetic, weak nuclear and strong nuclear) with the Higgs boson necessary to account for dark matter in the Universe. If the techni-Higgs is determined to be what was observed in 2012 then the Standard Model would need a replacement defined by at least one additional force not yet known.
Econintersect: If the ‘God particle’ is determined not to exist than will it be replaced with the ‘God force’?
Econintersect: Is the Physics Nobel Prize committee going to be placed in a penalty box with the Sveriges Riksbank Economics committee?
Sources:
- Maybe it wasn’t the Higgs particle, after all (University of Southern Denmark, R&D, 07 November 2014)
- Higgs boson scientists win Nobel prize in physics (James Morgan, BBC News)
- Which Boson Do You Work For? (GEI News, 05 July 2012)
- The Theory of Everything (Wikipedia)