Higgs boson

• Higgs boson

The Higgs boson is a scalar boson, theorized to exist by Peter Higgs in 1964. Peter Higgs was born in England and is very well known for his theory of the origin of mass of elementary particles. According to the theory of Peter Higgs, particles acquire mass by interacting with an energetic field known as the Higgs field. Higgs predicted a the existence of the particle of this field: the Higgs boson. The Higgs boson explains why all of the elementary particles, except, of course, for the photon and gluon, have mass. 

The necessity for the Higgs results from the Electroweak theory. The symmetry requirements of the Electroweak interaction require that the photon and the weak bosons have no mass. This is a significant obstacle for developing a consistent theory of particle physics. This Higgs mechanism is where elementary particles acquire their mass.

This is the reason the search for the Higgs is so critical, is that: according to the gauge theory of the Standard Model, the Electroweak theory, both the photon and W and Z boson particles are massless. Although the photon, is, indeed, massless, the W and Z bosons have mass. So, either the approach to the Electroweak theory of the Standard Model is incorrect, or, there is a field, or some other mechanism, by which these particles are interacting with, thus, acquiring their mass: perhaps the Higgs. 

The Higgs boson is a different type of particle. The discovery of the Higgs is a confirmation that the Standard Model is a consistent theory of elementary particle physics. Prior to the discovery of the Higgs, the origin of particle masses was not known for certain. If there was just mass from the beginning with no mechanism responsible for mass generation, then the theory itself would be inconsistent. It would make nonsensical predictions. The Higgs bosons tells us how the Higgs mechanism is implemented. 

The 1964 PRL symmetry breaking papers were authored by Peter Higgs, Francois Englert, Robert Brout and others. These were related papers that suggested potential mechanisms that would allow mass to arise in local gauge theories. These theorists are credited with the discovery of the Higgs field and the Higgs boson.