physics term paper

Michael Gleeson

PH 203: Spring

Outline for Term Paper

04/27/13

Term Paper Outline: The Higgs Boson

I. Intro: Overview of particle, field, theory and discovery.

A.) Basic summary of particle.

B.) Basic summary of field.

C.) Connect with basic summary of Standard Model.

D.) Excitement over recent discovery.

II. Body: Details of Standard Model; Higgs particle/field; CERN and others plus the discovery and ongoing

confirmation; beyond Standard Model.

A.) Standard Model.

1.) Concerning EM, Weak and Strong interactions -- does not incorporate gravity from general

relativity, predictions for an accelerating expansion of universe (dark energy), or account for

unknown matter observed only via gravitational interaction on a galactic scale (dark matter).

2.) Gauge invariance and symmetry:

a.) Explains most of observable, physical, measurable reality.

b.) Basic summary of Model:

i.) Matter Constituents -- Fermions = Quarks and Leptons.

ii.) Force Carriers -- Bosons = Gauge Bosons and Gluons.

iii.) Composites (Hadrons) -- Fermionic = Baryons; Bosonic = Mesons.

iv.) Properties of Interactions.

3.) Need for Higgs in Standard Model:

a.) Weak and EM forces suggested interactions of massless particles, while

experimental data showed W and Z bosons being massive with short range as a

consequence.

b.) Theory of broken symmetries due to Higgs Field -- specifically electroweak

field, giving rise to massive gauge bosons.

B.) Higgs particle/field.

1.) Extends through all of space and perhaps multidimensional.

2.) EM and Weak force separation.

3.) Higgs Mechanism results from field breaking symmetries, lending mass to gauge bosons and

some fermions (electrons and quarks) despite governing symmetry of

electroweak interaction.

4.) Define a Scalar Particle (the Higgs field quantum) -- first to be discovered in nature.

5.) Bad analogies -- field does not "resist mass," (symmetry break in optics or electric field and

charged particle interaction -- better analogies).

6.)Higgs field is not responsible for all mass, and field does not create mass out of nothing

(violation of law of conservation of energy).

a.) ~ 99% of the mass of baryons due instead to the kinetic energy of quarks and

energies of gluons and Strong interaction inside.

b.) Mass by Higgs field is manifestation of potential energy transferred to particle

during "coupling" with field.

C.) CERN and others, and the discovery/confirmation of Higgs.

1.) Summary of CERN, LHC, ATLAS, CMS.

2.) Higgs Particle itself and properties predicted and found.

a.) mass, decay, production, spin = 0, charge = 0, color change = 0, etc.

2.) July, 4 2012 announcement of discovery.

3.) Current confirmation and further exclusion or justification of alternative standard model

designs, enhancements and theories.

D.) Beyond the Standard Model.

1.) The energy of a vacuum; false vacuum.

2.) Dark matter and dark energy.

3.) Supersymmetry (SUSY).

4.) Two-Higgs-doublet Model (2HDM).

5.) Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM).

6.) Technicolor/quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

7.) Extra-dimensional/brane cosmology/string theory (quantum theory of gravity).

8.) Current hiccups in Higgs theory.

a.) Hierarchy problem.

III.) Conclusion: Implications and applications.

A.) Physics.

1.) Origin of mass.

2.) Validation of Standard Model and LHC.

3.) The electroweak force.

4.) Supersymmetry.

B.) Practicality.

1.) Inertia

2.) Detectors and magnetics.

3.) Quantum effects and electrical engineering.

References

http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/cern/ideas/higgs.html

http://lhc.web.cern.ch/lhc/

http://aleph.web.cern.ch/aleph/aleph/Public.html

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/forces/higgs.html

http://phys.org/tags/higgs+boson/

http://www.newscientist.com/topic/higgs-boson

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/april/gianotti-hofstadter-lectures-040413.html

http://home.web.cern.ch/about/physics/standard-model

http://physics.info/standard/

http://www.particleadventure.org/standard_model.html

http://www.superstringtheory.com/experm/exper2.html

http://www-sldnt.slac.stanford.edu/alr/standard_model.htm

http://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/the-higgs-particle/how-the-higgs-field-works/

http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2012/12/07/how-to-explain-the-higgs-mechanism/

http://phys.org/news/2012-09-physicist-significance-higgs-boson-discovery.html