The Nature of the Higgs Boson

With the recent discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider, we have begun to uncover the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking: how elementary particles acquire mass. I will describe the underlying theory of particle physics, the Standard Model, and how it is now completed by the Higgs. I will also explain the theoretical framework used to go from seeing a bump in certain experimental distributions to being sure this discovery is in fact a Higgs boson. Finally, I will describe the shortcomings of the Standard Model, focusing on the hierarchy problem, and show how future measurements of the Higgs can shed light on some of the mysteries of our universe.

All Faculty, staff and students are invited
Coffee will be served in the Department of Physics
SP-367-11 at 3:30  PM
Information: 514 848-2424 ext. 3270