Explaining the Standard Model Mass Mechanism to the Public

aka the Brout-Englert-Higgs-Hagen-Guralnik-Kibble Field and the Higgs Boson

Michael Kobel

Fakultät Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Fachrichtung Physik

IPPOG Innsbruck, 20.4.2012

Conclusions form Workinggroup

People:

Jiri, Ivan, Christine, Peter, Farid, Erik, Joao, Michael,HPB

and after coffee break also joining:Thomas, Rasmus

Conclusions form WorkinggroupWe had an extremely lively, constructive and sometimes very theory driven discussions.

The task to explain the Higgs mechanism,the Higgs boson and the generation of mass is not an easy one.

Plenty of non-exact, often wrong or confusing statements can be found everywhere.

We need to do better!

There are also problems with David Miller’s famous party analogon…

Conclusions form Workinggroup

We want to describe the Higgs mechanism fromthe initial state of the Higgs potential and not from itsground state, where the Universe sits.

From this view point, the vacuum is not empty,and the Higgs particle is a ”disturbance” (”turbulence”) of the non-empty vacuum.

(We agreed that the term ”excitation” should be avoided)

Fermions do get their mass by traversing the non-empty vacuum.

Conclusions form Workinggroup

Turbulences, which actually mean the Higgs boson itself, are created in a medium (Higgs vacuum) more easily if the viscosity of the medium is small.

This means the Higgs boson mass is lower, as itneeds less energy to create a Higgs boson.The steepness of the Higgs potential is therefore related to the viscosity of the Higgs medium.

But this doesn’t work for the fermions traversingthe Higgs medium as different fermions do have different masses. But we now do have a picture to explain the Higgs mass itself.

Conclusions form WorkinggroupJoao will be able to visualize how Fermions get mass, by moving a particle through a medium, andto visualize the Higgs particle as a clumping of the medium.

Wait and see in about two weeks from now!

Conclusions form Workinggroup

We realize that there apparently is no way to explain how W & Z bosons do get their mass Photons stay massless

and further how to depict EWSB (electroweak

symmetry breaking)

Both should be addressed by IPPOG action items

Conclusions form Workinggroup

It was a great afternoon discussion.We all learnt quite a bit on visualizations and the problems with these; we exchanged good ideas, and are enriched with new pictures.We have not solved this task in its full complexity,as this is a really tough one.But we did progress and will need to continue.Two action items (EWSB, W&Z mass) defined.Joao is enriched towards his animation project.

i.e. clumping of Higgs mediumThanks to all who have contributed!!