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However, dark matter has mass, and considering the Higgs boson’s relation to mass, physicists have suggested that dark-matter particles could interact with the Higgs boson: a Higgs boson could transform (or “decay”) into dark-matter particles shortly after being produced in the LHC’s collisions.
Is dark matter a boson?
Known elementary particles of matter can be placed in one of two categories: fermions and bosons. So, electrons, quarks, and neutrinos are fermions, while photons and gluons are bosons. Within the standard model of particle physics, there are no bosons that would fit the bill for dark matter.
Can Higgs be dark matter?
It would make sense for Higgs bosons to be connected to dark matter; the Higgs gives mass to elementary particles, and one of the few things astronomers know about dark matter is that it has mass. Just as scientists can predict how Higgs bosons decay, they also know the recipes for how Higgs bosons can be made.
What is dark matter CERN?
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is renowned for the hunt for and discovery of the Higgs boson, but in the 10 years since the machine collided protons at an energy higher than previously achieved at a particle accelerator, researchers have been using it to try to hunt down an equally exciting particle: the hypothetical …
How can the Higgs boson be used to detect dark matter?
Since the Higgs boson has the role to generate the mass of other particles and the fact that dark matter can primarily be detected through its mass, the Higgs boson can be a unique portal to finding signs of dark matter. The LHC at CERN is the highest-energy particle collider in the world.
What is the Higgs boson (God Particle)?
Science Made Simple: What is the Higgs Boson (God Particle)? The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a general-purpose detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It has a broad physics program ranging from studying the Standard Model (including the Higgs boson) to searching for extra dimensions and particles that could make up dark matter.
What if the Higgs boson deviates from the standard model?
If the Higgs boson deviates from the model, it may provide clues to new particles that only interact with other Standard Model particles through the Higgs boson and thereby lead to new scientific discoveries. LHC tunnel. Credit: © CERN The Higgs boson gets its mass just like other particles—from its own interactions with the Higgs field.
Is there a dark matter particle?
Although successful at describing elementary particles and their interactions at low energies, the Standard Model of particle physics does not include a viable dark-matter particle. The only possible candidates, neutrinos, do not have the right properties to explain the observed dark matter.