How do we explain the existence of matter? For years, physicists have adopted an explanation in which a postulated entity, the Higgs boson,(aka the 'god particle') plays a starring role. Now, after rigorous seaching at CERN and Fermilab, some physicists are at the brink of kicking the Higgs into the file cabinet of failed theories and things that aren't there.
The CERN research centre, whose giant Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been the focus of the search, said it had reported to a conference in Mumbai that possible signs of the Higgs noted last month were now seen as less significant.
A number of scientists from the centre went on to make comments that raised the possibility that the mystery particle might not exist.
"Whatever the final verdict on Higgs, we are now living in very exciting times for all involved in the quest for new physics," Guido Tonelli, from one of the two LHC detectors chasing the Higgs, said as the new observations were announced.
CERN's statement said new results, which updated findings that caused excitement at another scientific gathering in Grenoble last month, "show that the elusive Higgs particle, if it exists, is running out of places to hide."
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Scientists at the U.S. Fermilab near Chicago have been in a parallel search in their Tevatron collider for nearly 30 years. Last month they said they hoped to establish if the Higgs exists by the end of September, when the Tevatron closes down.
The rejection of the Higgs, should it come to pass, will not be a sign of failure of science, but of its success.
(cross posted at Possible Experience).