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Final Analysis Suggests Tevatron Saw Hint of the Higgs Boson

Posted by Unknown on from the america-hates-science dept.

ananyo writes with exciting news from the world of particle physics: "A hint of the Higgs boson, the missing piece in the standard model of particle physics, has been found in data collected by the Tevatron, the now-shuttered U.S. particle collider at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois. While not statistically significant enough in themselves to count as a 'discovery', the indications announced on 7 March at the Moriond conference in La Thuile, Italy, are consistent with 2011 reports of a possible standard model Higgs particle with a mass of around 125 GeV from experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland. The data is more direct evidence of the Higgs than the constraints on its mass offered by the precise W boson mass measurement reported on Monday. On a sad note, the find vindicates Tevatron scientists who campaigned unsuccessfully to extend the collider's run. The request was turned down by the Department of Energy but this last hurrah suggests that Tevatron might indeed have found the Higgs ahead of CERN's Large Hadron Collider if they'd secured the funding required. The Tevatron is currently being raided for parts."

4 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. 50 years ago... by drachenfyre · · Score: 5, Insightful

    50 years ago the U.S. could put a man into space. Today it can't.
    50 years ago the U.S. was at the forefront of particle physics. Today it isn't.
    50 years ago the U.S. started development of 3 different spacecraft on 5 different man rated rockets over a 7 year span. Today it's 10 years just to develop one.
    50 years ago the U.S. had a plane capable of traveling at Mach 3.35. Today it doesn't.

    I seriously feel bad for the future country my kids will inherit. It doesn't seem like we're moving in the right direction on the science and technology front.

    1. Re:50 years ago... by daem0n1x · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But think positive. You have plenty of lawyers, bankers and preachers!

    2. Re:50 years ago... by drachenfyre · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You're right. Nothing ever came out of the space program, aerospace industry or particle physics labs that equated back to our day to day life.

      To quote JFK, "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too"

      The U.S. learned from going to the moon. From building the tevatron and the A-12/SR-71. From the Manhattan project.

      It doesn't matter if the goals are social equality and food for all, or freeing ourselves from the Oil economy. What matters is the single, common and focused goals to drive projects and technology further. The type of projects that lead to new and better lives for everyone in it. The list of discoveries and advancements made *JUST* off of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo projects would fill pages. It was not about putting a footprint on the moon. It was putting a footprint on the moon and learning everything we could about doing it. It was about the advancement in computers, radio, rocketry, electronics and a myriad of other fields. The A-12 project advanced our understanding of supersonic travel to a new level.

      The point is, I really think as a society, we've fallen into the prediction that John Steinbeck made at the height of the progress of the 60's.

      "We now face the danger, which in the past has been the most destructive to the humans: Success, plenty, comfort and ever-increasing leisure. No dynamic people has ever survived these dangers."

  2. Good thing the Higgs will be confirmed at LHC by ganv · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the US had extended funding for the Tevatron, the accomplishment of finding the Higgs as the Tevatron neared retirement would have been nice for American high energy physics, but it would likely have been bad for the field more broadly. Having the Higgs discovery near the beginning of data acquisition at the LHC will provide publicity and a morale boost that will enhance the productivity of the field over many years.