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<blockquote data-quote="freyar" data-source="post: 5961143" data-attributes="member: 40227">Two of the major detector experiments (ATLAS and CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN held a joint seminar today to announce their most recent results in the search for the last undiscovered particle of the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs boson.&nbsp; (As I write, the seminar is just concluding.)&nbsp; Both experiments have independently found what's known as a &quot;5 sigma&quot; detection of a new particle with a mass around 126 GeV (or about 135 times the mass of the proton). This is considered the gold standard in particle physics for claiming discovery of a new particle.&nbsp; In addition, these initial results are compatible with expectations from the simplest Standard Model Higgs boson; future work will determine if a somewhat more complicated model involving some new type of particle physics is necessary (there are possible hints at some more complicated behavior --- whether you believe them is at the moment a matter of taste).&nbsp; I should also note that these experiments are massive international efforts, and these results are really a global accomplishment.You can read the official <a href="http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2012/PR17.12E.html" target="_blank">CERN press release</a>, and I also recommend science blogs <a href="http://www.quantumdiaries.org/tag/higgs/" target="_blank">Quantum Diaries</a>, <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/" target="_blank">Cosmic Variance</a>, and <a href="http://profmattstrassler.com/" target="_blank">Of Particular Significance</a> for impressions of the seminars and (in the future) more discussion of the results (as well as other physics).&nbsp; As it's now nearly 4AM for me, I'm heading to sleep, but questions are welcome!&nbsp; As a theoretical particle physicist, I'm excited, impressed, and hopeful that something not quite expected will show up in the future results.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="freyar, post: 5961143, member: 40227"] Two of the major detector experiments (ATLAS and CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN held a joint seminar today to announce their most recent results in the search for the last undiscovered particle of the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs boson. (As I write, the seminar is just concluding.) Both experiments have independently found what's known as a "5 sigma" detection of a new particle with a mass around 126 GeV (or about 135 times the mass of the proton). This is considered the gold standard in particle physics for claiming discovery of a new particle. In addition, these initial results are compatible with expectations from the simplest Standard Model Higgs boson; future work will determine if a somewhat more complicated model involving some new type of particle physics is necessary (there are possible hints at some more complicated behavior --- whether you believe them is at the moment a matter of taste). I should also note that these experiments are massive international efforts, and these results are really a global accomplishment. You can read the official [url=http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2012/PR17.12E.html]CERN press release[/url], and I also recommend science blogs [url=http://www.quantumdiaries.org/tag/higgs/]Quantum Diaries[/url], [url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/]Cosmic Variance[/url], and [url=http://profmattstrassler.com/]Of Particular Significance[/url] for impressions of the seminars and (in the future) more discussion of the results (as well as other physics). As it's now nearly 4AM for me, I'm heading to sleep, but questions are welcome! As a theoretical particle physicist, I'm excited, impressed, and hopeful that something not quite expected will show up in the future results. [/QUOTE]

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