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I wonder if it’s harder to get funding for that. With the LHC they at least expected the Higgs boson. And hopes for super symmetry signs that seem to have faile

by jug 8y ago

I wonder if it’s harder to get funding for that. With the LHC they at least expected the Higgs boson. And hopes for super symmetry signs that seem to have failed to materialize. With only hand waving and hopes for hypotheses left, and ever increasing costs... :-/

ISL 8y ago
The easy ask now is for a precision electron-positron collider to study the Higgs itself. Lepton/anti-lepton colliders are as clean as an experiment can be, in stark contrast to hadron colliders, which are as clean as a car accident. With the improved understanding of the Higgs that we have now, an e+/e- machine can be custom-built to study it in great detail. The Higgs is the newest fundamental particle to physics, and the first/only known scalar. We should expect that it has more to tell us than simply its own existence. Even when the LHC was being planned, LHC was the discovery machine, and precision experiments were to follow. In my opinion, only when those measurements are complete should we consider a huge leap toward higher energy, unless new accelerator technology emerges.
- wolfgke 8y ago
  > The Higgs is the newest fundamental particle to physics, and the first/only known scalar. A question to physicists: Is there (strong) evidence that there might exist other scalars (if yes: at which energy level?). If not: Do there exist attempts of theories that predict why there is only one scalar?
  - ISL 8y ago
    I'm unaware of a particular compelling argument for another scalar. Scalars are easier for theorists to use when trying out a new theory, so they abound in theoretical physics. At some level, it is something of a surprise to have found that there is just one particle responsible for the Higgs mechanism, and it is indeed spin-0, as Nature hasn't given us one of those before. Prior to the discovery of the Higgs, perhaps the majority of physicists were betting on something Higgs-like, but not quite the pure vanilla Standard Model Higgs. I would not bet any money on it, but if one were looking for another scalar, one might find it in whatever mechanism underlies dark energy. Many theoretical models for dark energy use scalars, again, because they are easier...

by jug 8y ago

ISL 8y ago

The easy ask now is for a precision electron-positron collider to study the Higgs itself. Lepton/anti-lepton colliders are as clean as an experiment can be, in stark contrast to hadron colliders, which are as clean as a car accident. With the improved understanding of the Higgs that we have now, an e+/e- machine can be custom-built to study it in great detail. The Higgs is the newest fundamental particle to physics, and the first/only known scalar. We should expect that it has more to tell us than simply its own existence. Even when the LHC was being planned, LHC was the discovery machine, and precision experiments were to follow. In my opinion, only when those measurements are complete should we consider a huge leap toward higher energy, unless new accelerator technology emerges.

wolfgke 8y ago
> The Higgs is the newest fundamental particle to physics, and the first/only known scalar. A question to physicists: Is there (strong) evidence that there might exist other scalars (if yes: at which energy level?). If not: Do there exist attempts of theories that predict why there is only one scalar?
- ISL 8y ago
  I'm unaware of a particular compelling argument for another scalar. Scalars are easier for theorists to use when trying out a new theory, so they abound in theoretical physics. At some level, it is something of a surprise to have found that there is just one particle responsible for the Higgs mechanism, and it is indeed spin-0, as Nature hasn't given us one of those before. Prior to the discovery of the Higgs, perhaps the majority of physicists were betting on something Higgs-like, but not quite the pure vanilla Standard Model Higgs. I would not bet any money on it, but if one were looking for another scalar, one might find it in whatever mechanism underlies dark energy. Many theoretical models for dark energy use scalars, again, because they are easier...