Sidebar: Solving the Higgs Puzzle

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

WANTED: NEW PHYSICS
Whatever keeps the Higgs mass near the 1-TeV scale must come from beyond the Standard Model. Theorists have advanced many possible solutions. The Large Hadron Collider will decide. Here are three promising lines:

SUPERSYMMETRY
What tends to elevate the Higgs mass is its interaction with so-called virtual particles—copies of quarks, leptons and other particles that temporarily materialize around the Higgs. But if each particle species is paired with a superpartner, the two will offset each other, holding down the Higgs mass.

TECHNICOLOR
Perhaps the Higgs is not a truly elementary particle but a bundle of more fundamental constituents, much as the proton is a mini galaxy of quarks and gluons. Then the Higgs mass would derive mostly from the energy of its constituents and would not be so sensitive
to high-energy processes that add to its mass.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

EXTRA DIMENSIONS
If space has dimensions beyond the familiar three, particles might interact differently at high energies, and the conjectured unification energy might not be as high as physicists now think. The hierarchy problem would be recast or even eliminated.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American