Higgsn.
/hɪɡz/, U.S. /hɪɡz/ Particle Physics.
I. Compounds.
1.
a. Higgs phenomenon n. the phenomenon of the Higgs mechanism, the Higgs field, and related concepts.
ΚΠ
1972 B. W. Lee in Physical Rev. D 15 Feb. 823 (title) Renormalizable massive vector-meson theory-perturbation theory of the Higgs phenomenon.
1983 E. D. Comminis & P. H. Bucksbaum Weak Interactions Leptons & Quarks ii. 72 The simple classical analysis of V that led to the properties of the Goldstone bosons and the Higgs phenomenon..remains valid in the quantum field theory.
1996 L. H. Ryder Quantum Field Theory (ed. 2) viii. 294 The gauge field..has now acquired a mass—the ‘photon’ has become massive. This phenomenon is called the Higgs phenomenon.
2011 P. W. Anderson More & Different ii. 107 In the next decade..we will probably discover unexpected complexity in the Higgs phenomenon.
b. Higgs mechanism n. the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the electromagnetic and weak interactions by the agency of a Higgs field.The mechanism is invoked to account for the fact that the W and Z particles (mediators of the weak force) have mass but the photon (mediator of the electromagnetic force) does not. An implication of the mechanism is the existence of a Higgs particle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > Higgs particle or boson > theory of
Higgs mechanism1972
1972 T. Appelquist & H. Quinn in Physics Lett. B. 17 Apr. 229 A simplified (abelian) model of weak interactions is examined... The model utilizes the Higgs mechanism of spontaneous violation of local gauge symmetry to generate a vector meson mass.
1986 Sci. Amer. Mar. 60/3 In the simplest form of the Higgs mechanism for symmetry breaking there is one Higgs particle associated with one Higgs field.
1993 N.Y. Times 9 Nov. c8/3 The supercollider..would have hurled counterrotating beams of protons around a 54-mile ellipse to produce gigantic collisional energy. Physicists hoped this energy would have been sufficient to reveal the ‘Higgs mechanism’.
2006 P. Woit Not even Wrong vi. 83 This way of getting around the Goldstone theorem and giving mass to the Yang–Mills field quanta is now called the Higgs mechanism.
2.
a. Higgs particle n. the quantum of a Higgs field, spec. a postulated scalar neutral boson.A particle detected in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva was in 2013 tentatively identified as a Higgs particle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > Higgs particle or boson
Higgs boson1973
Higgs particle1973
Higgs1976
God particle1991
1973 Physical Rev. D Jan. 510 Recently proposed models of weak interactions based on spontaneously broken gauge symmetry contain additional interactions arising from exchange of the scalar Higgs particles and/or neutral vector bosons.
1977 Nature 21 Apr. 680/1 In the gauge theories, particles gain masses by coupling to scalar fields known as Higgs particles.
1987 Nature 5 Feb. 479/1 The undiscovered object called the Higgs particle is a continuing offence against the successful electroweak theory.
2005 L. Randall Warped Passages x. 210 The nature of the Higgs particle is one of the most hotly debated topics in particle physics.
b. Higgs boson n. = Higgs particle n. at sense 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > Higgs particle or boson
Higgs boson1973
Higgs particle1973
Higgs1976
God particle1991
1973 Nucl. Physics B. 4 June 640 We cannot enhance MZ by a large amount without introducing a large family of Higgs bosons.
1983 J. Iliopoulos in A. Z. Capri & A. N. Kamal Particles & Fields 2 i. 3 The most characteristic signature of the Higgs boson is its coupling properties to fermions.
1987 New Scientist 12 Feb. 27/1 Nobody knows how heavy the Higgs boson is, even if it exists.
2012 Times (Nexis) 5 July 2 We have a new particle: a boson, most probably a Higgs boson.
3. Higgs field n. an electrically neutral scalar field invoked in the Higgs mechanism.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > Higgs particle or boson > theory of > field invoked in
Higgs field1973
1973 Nucl. Physics B. 4 June 640 It is possible that MZ is enhanced with respect to the value obtained using only one doublet of Higgs fields.
1986 Sci. Amer. Mar. 60/3 The interaction of a particle with the Higgs field contributes to the energy of a particle with respect to the vacuum. That energy is equivalent to a mass.
2011 F. Close Infinity Puzzle ix. 140 Brout and Englert beat Higgs into print by just two weeks... However,..although they did introduce the concept of the Higgs field, there is no explicit mention of any massive ‘Higgs boson’ in their paper.
II. Simple uses.
4. A Higgs particle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > Higgs particle or boson
Higgs boson1973
Higgs particle1973
Higgs1976
God particle1991
1976 Nucl. Physics B. 106 300 A low-mass Higgs is inconsistent with angular distribution measurements in low-energy neutron-nucleus scattering.
1984 Nature 19 Jan. 297/2 The appropriate spin-zero Higgs needed to break the electroweak and other gauge symmetries.
1986 Sci. Amer. Mar. 61/1 If the mass of the Higgs is as great as 1 TeV, the electroweak theory predicts that entirely new phenomena must emerge at energies of 1 TeV or more.
2010 I. Sample Massive xi. 214 Many physicists are hoping hard that, whenever the Higgs is found, it will prove to be a variety predicted by supersymmetry.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1972