Science Higgs Boson found?

[mojoey]

Considering we got all worked up over the whole Neutrino thing, I'll remain a bit sceptical about this...if it is indeed found...cosmic catcher mitts! /shameless Eureka reference

 

[orb]

Discovery News: Particle 'Consistent' With Higgs Boson Discovered:

{...}

When reports first surfaced that Peter Higgs -- one of the six physicists who, in the 1960s, developed the theory behind Higgs boson -- had been invited to CERN for this morning's announcement, the event became hard to ignore: something historic was about to happen.

And sure enough, at 9 a.m. in Geneva, Switzerland (3 a.m. EST), the news we had all been waiting for was spelled out by Joe Incandela, lead scientist of the CMS experiment: "We have observed a new boson."
LHC

This "new boson" revealed itself in the CMS data as a "bump" at 125 GeV/c2, a value that places it at over 130 times more massive than a proton.

After combining all the results gathered over many different channels in the CMS, the level of certainty -- 4.9-sigma -- came tantalizingly close to the "Gold Standard" (5-sigma) for subatomic particle discovery. This means there is a one-in-2 million chance of the result being experimental error. For all intents and purposes, this is a discovery of a particle that acts very much like a Higgs boson.

"This is very preliminary result, but it's very strong," added Incandela.

Following the CMS announcement, ATLAS' Fabiola Gianotti said: "We observe in our data clear signs of a new particle, at the level of five sigma, in the mass region around 126 GeV." A 5-sigma result represents a one-in-3.5 million chance of the result being a fluke. This is undeniable proof that a boson, with very Higgs-like qualities, has been discovered by the two detectors.

However, more work needs to be done to figure out if this is indeed a Higgs boson or some unexpected renegade particle that just acts like the Higgs (although the latter is highly unlikely).

{...}

Discover Magazine - Bad Astronomy: Higgs!

RIA Novosti: Higgs Boson Candidate Found – CERN

Universe Today: Higgs-like Particle Discovered at CERN

Florida Today: Physicists celebrate evidence of new particle

 

[garyw]

This is also being reported on BBC News -> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18702455 they are claiming a 4.9 sigma certainty that the higgs has been found.

The CMS team claimed they had seen a "bump" in their data corresponding to a particle weighing in at 125.3 gigaelectronvolts (GeV) - about 133 times heavier than the proton at the heart of every atom.

They claimed that by combining two data sets, they had attained a confidence level just at the "five-sigma" point - about a one-in-3.5 million chance that the signal they see would appear if there were no Higgs particle.

However, a full combination of the CMS data brings that number just back to 4.9 sigma - a one-in-two million chance.

Prof Joe Incandela, spokesman for the CMS, was unequivocal: "The results are preliminary but the five-sigma signal at around 125 GeV we're seeing is dramatic. This is indeed a new particle," he told the Geneva meeting.
Peter Higgs Peter Higgs joined three of the six theoreticians who first predicted the Higgs at the conference

Atlas results were even more promising, at a slightly higher mass: "We observe in our data clear signs of a new particle, at the level of five sigma, in the mass region around 126 GeV," said Dr Fabiola Gianotti, spokeswoman for the Atlas experiment at the LHC.

Prof Rolf Heuer, director-general of Cern, commented: "As a layman I would now say I think we have it."

 

[orb]

Discovery News: Stephen Hawking Loses Higgs Boson Bet

 

[palebluevoice]

This is also being reported on BBC News -> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18702455 they are claiming a 4.9 sigma certainty that the higgs has been found.

What does a 4.9 sigma certainty mean? I'm unfamiliar with academic terms.

 

[Unstung]

What does a 4.9 sigma certainty mean? I'm unfamiliar with academic terms.

Standard deviation is represented by a lowercase sigma, which has to do with statistics.

(link)
As you can see, the x-axis is labeled from -3 sigma to +3 sigma. So I figure that 5 sigma means the vast majority of the data has been accounted for and scientists are very confident that a particle exists around 125 GeV.
I cannot explain it well because I only have a brief understanding of the subject.

 

[jangofett287]

4.9sigma means a 1 in 2 million chance they've got it wrong. 5sigma (the one all the scientists are really waiting for) is a 1 in 3.5 million chance.

 

[RisingFury]

Considering we got all worked up over the whole Neutrino thing, I'll remain a bit sceptical about this...if it is indeed found...cosmic catcher mitts! /shameless Eureka reference

The neutrino "thing" was completely unexpected. Our current theories could not account for it, if it were true. In fact, our current understanding says it can't happen.

With Higgs boson, our current understanding says we need it. Not finding it would be a problem. There's 50 years of research to back it up.

So maybe you can see why it's easier to accept the Higgs than it is to accept FTL neutrinos.

 

[Quick_Nick]

Does this mean the Standard Model doesn't get to be a nice pretty square anymore?

 

[jedidia]

Not sure what you mean by that. Finding the Higgs is about the strongest evidence we ever had that the standard model is indeed correct. I think that was most of the point of finding it.

 

[Quick_Nick]

As a boson, wouldn't it be added in here?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Standard_Model_of_Elementary_Particles.svg

 

[jedidia]

Ah, now I understand the reference :lol:

 

[iamwearingpants]

Rather relevant:

 

[Urwumpe]

Standard deviation is represented by a lowercase sigma, which has to do with statistics.

...

I cannot explain it well because I only have a brief understanding of the subject.

Correct, the sigma is a measure of how much of a expected normal distribution (bell curve) is covered by the measurements and how likely a future measurement could be not according to your prediction, model or theory.

One sigma is the standard deviation - in this case, there is a 68% chance that the next measurement will be according to the statistical model (Your expectation, theory, etc).

Approximately explained: You have two normally distributed random numbers a and b. The chance, that a normally distributed random number c would not be between the numbers a and b, is a bit less than 1/3rd. The standard deviation Sigma would be the distance of both numbers a and b from the average of them.

Note the "normally distributed": While this is usually true for many things in the universe, it is not always that case.

Two sigma is two standard deviations - now the chance is 95%, that the next measurement will be as expected.

Three sigma is already 99.7%, four sigma 99.993666%, etc. The higher the sigma value in terms of multiples of the standard deviation, the more of the normal distribution will be covered by your model.

So, 4.9 Sigma means 99.999999% chance that the next measurement will be as your model or theory predicts. Or 1:1,000,000 that it could be wrong.

 

[storm]

Here's a nice table for those who are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_deviation#Table

 

[Hmuda]

Well, it was only a matter of time.

https://twitter.com/#!/DerpParticle

 

[Quick_Nick]

Well, it was only a matter of time.

https://twitter.com/#!/DerpParticle

Ah the internet.
Not sure if mentally challenged or trolling.

 

[Hmuda]

Ah the internet.
Not sure if mentally challenged or trolling.

Too many of them to all be poes.

 

[Urwumpe]

Ah the internet.
Not sure if mentally challenged or trolling.

It is an interesting dualism, like photons are wave and particle at the same time, these users are mentally challenged and trolling at the same time.

 

[Rtyh-12]

I'll summarise the Twitter page for those who prefer their IQ to remain above room temperature: 'Scientists have found the God particle. Stupid atheists can't deny the existence of God any longer.'

Can we rename it 'the Probe particle'?