The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World (51 page)

and field theory, 117–18

and “God Particle” term, 19–20

lifespan of, 170, 272

and mass of particles, 5, 12, 27, 31–37,
35,
53–54, 58, 60, 142–46, 273

and neutron decay, 132–33, 134

origin of name, 5, 11–12

and particle detectors, 96, 104

and particle spin, 52–53,
53,
285, 286, 288

prediction of, 224, 266–67, 282

and the Standard Model, 9, 11–12

summarized, 35–36

and supersymmetry, 258,
259,
259–60

and the weak force, 32

and WIMPs, 248–49, 250, 252

See also
Higgs field

Higgs field

analogy for lay audience, 137–39

and the Big Bang, 160–61

and connection fields, 153

described, 32–34

and the Higgs boson, 117–18, 166–67, 167–69

and mass of particles, 5, 12, 27, 31–37,
35,
53–54, 58, 60, 142–46, 273

and matter-antimatter asymmetry, 268

and particle spin, 290–92

and relativity, 139, 273

resting value of,
35,
139–42,
141,
146, 147–50, 253–54, 273

summarized, 35–37

and supersymmetry, 257, 259–60, 260–61

and symmetry breaking, 52, 146,
147,
147–50, 156–60, 162, 273–74, 278, 292

and vacuum energy, 256

See also
Higgs bosons

The
Higgs Hunter’s Guide
(Gunion, Haber, Kane, and Dawson), 174

Higgs mechanism

as collaboration, 212

developments leading to, 222, 224–26, 236

and naming conventions, 237–39

and symmetry breaking, 289

and vacuum energy, 256

and weak interaction theory, 163

High Energy Physics
(Hellman), 55

Hindus, 10

homeopathy, 39–41

House of Wisdom
(blog), 279

Howard, Ron, 204–5

Hulse, Russell, 124

Hunt, Johnnie Bryan, 73

ICARUS experiment, 196–97

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 19

Imagine Entertainment, 204

Incandela, Joe, 3–4, 6, 18, 79, 184, 186, 277

The
Infinity Puzzle
(Close), 234

information technology, 110–12, 112–14, 179–80, 201–2

inner detectors, 107,
107,
109

Insane Clown Posse, 115–17

Institute for Advanced Study, 19, 155

Institute for Theoretical Physics, 209–10

interference patterns, 125

International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP), 3, 181, 203

International Linear Collider (ILC) (proposed), 276–77

International Space Station, 70

Internet, 113, 274

Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR), 61–62

ions, 45

iridium, 56

Jago, Crispian, 39–41

Janot, Patrick, 65

Johnson Space Center, 70

Jona-Lasinio, Giovanni, 217, 219

Kaluza, Theodor, 263

Kane, Gordon, 174, 255

Kaplan, David, 206–8, 277

Kendall, Henry, 66

Kibble, Tom, 222, 225–28, 233–36, 238–41

Klein, Abraham, 221

Klein, Oskar, 263

Krumhansl, James, 72

Lamb, Willis, 50

Lamont, Mike, 77–78

Landau, Lev, 214–15

Laplace, Pierre-Simon, 120, 123

Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP), 17, 62, 80, 82

Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

advances of, 56–57

and black hole panic, 189–91

blog coverage of startup, 199

and cancellation of the SCC, 73

competition with Tevatron, 65

construction of, 81–83

cost of, 65, 83, 90, 270, 276

damage to, 75–77

and dark matter, 252

and decay of Higgs bosons, 54

and discovery the Higgs, 15–16

energies attained, 86–88, 181

and energy/wavelength connection, 127

and Evans’s retirement, 90–91

impact on particle physics, 8–9

inauguration of, 1–6

magnet of, 75–77, 88–90

mass of particles created by, 272

operation of, 83–85

and particle “pileup,” 102, 182, 185

planning and design of, 80–81, 81–83

and quench, 76

recovery from breakdown, 77–79

and statistical analysis, 180

and string theory, 262

and supersymmetry,
259

“Large Hadron Rap,” 205–6

Larry King radio show, 270

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), 124–25

Laue, Max von, 209–10

Lederman, Leon, 19–20, 25, 37, 48, 67

Lee, Benjamin, 221, 237–38

Lee, T. D., 155

Legoland, 9

Leibniz, Gottfried, 222

Lemaître, Georges, 22

leptons

and atomic structure, 11

described, 293

generations of,
49,
295

and Higgs decay modes,
171,
184–85, 187

mass of, 53, 143

and neutron decay, 133–34

origin of term, 48

and particle detectors, 96

and particle spin, 286, 292

and resting value of Higgs field, 146

and the strong nuclear force, 41

Leucippus, 279

Lewis, Gilbert, 127

LHCb experiment, 97

LHCf experiment, 97

lifespan of elementary particles, 94–95, 105–6, 170

light, 125, 143

linear accelerators, 66, 276

liquid noble gas particle detectors, 250–51

local symmetries, 151, 154–55, 211, 222, 289

Lucas, George, 207

Lucretius, 279

Lykken, Joe, 79, 238–39

magnets and magnetism

and the electromagnetic field, 120–22

and fields, 116–18

Insane Clown Posse on, 116–17

at the LHC, 75–77, 88–90

and particle charges,
57

and particle detectors, 99–100

technological advances, 274

See also
electromagnetic force

Maiani, Luciano, 65, 83

Manhattan Project, 72, 269

Mann, Michael, 205

Mansfield, Edwin, 274

mass

and the Big Bang, 161

and creation of Higgs bosons, 166–67

and dark matter, 246

and electroweak unification, 235

energy/mass equivalency, 34, 57–61, 86, 142–44

and energy/wavelength connection, 126–27

fermions, 143,
294

and the Higgs boson/field, 5, 12, 27, 31–37,
35,
53–54, 58, 60, 142–46, 273

and Higgs decay modes, 173, 188

and neutrinos,
49,
49–50, 53–54, 143,
294

and particle accelerators, 57–61

and particle spin, 283–92,
287

and superconductivity, 214–15

and symmetry, 36, 212–13, 217–20,
218,
223,
225

and volume of particles, 28

matter, 5, 11, 28, 130, 131–33.
See also
fermions

Maxwell, James Clerk, 121–22

McAlpine, Kate, 205–6

media and public attention to physics

and black hole panic, 189–91

and blogs, 198–200, 200–202, 202–4

and the entertainment industry, 204–8

and Higgs boson announcement, 135–36

mischaracterization of research, 273

and OPERA experiment findings, 195–97

and publishing process, 192–95

and rumors, 202–4

Megatrek computer system, 179–80

mesons, 48, 50, 96, 238, 294–95

metric tensor, 124

Migdal, Alexander, 228

Miller, David, 137

Mills, Robert, 154–55, 158, 212–13

Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, 258–59

“Miracles” (Insane Clown Posse), 115–16

MoEDAL (Monopole and Exotics Detector At the LHC), 97, 98

“More is Different” (Anderson), 219

Morrison geological formation, 94

M-theory, 265

multiverse theories, 265–67, 268

Munch, Walter, 207

muons

and cosmic rays, 48, 106

detectors, 107,
107,
108–9,
109

and Higgs decay modes,
173

and mass, 145

muon neutrinos, 67, 159

and particle detectors, 96, 105–6

and resting value of Higgs field, 146

and symmetry, 149, 159

Nambu, Yoichiro, 215–17, 219, 224, 239, 261

Nambu-Goldfield bosons, 217, 219–20, 223–24

Nanopoulos, Dimitri, 174

National Academy of Sciences, 205

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 70, 251

National Journal,
273

National Science Foundation (NSF), 207

Nature,
279

Neddermeyer, Seth, 48

neutralinos, 258,
259,
261

neutrinos