Friday, July 6, 2012

With God Particle, Bigger Search Begins: Kolkata

KOLKATA: The discovery of Higgsboson will lead particle physics to an even bigger theory of which the standard model, that was proved correct on Wednesday, is a small part. 
While the new theory will have more predictions about matter - which could take science to the next level - it will also provide scientists with an opportunity to iron out the inherent flaws of the standard model, say the scientists of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics who worked on the CERN experiment.
Particle physics, they explained, has not been shut with the discovery of the God particle. It has just turned a corner and is possibly on the threshold of a bigger leap.
"With the discovery of the new particle we have merely proved the standard model theory right. But it happens to be just a small part of a bigger theory on which scientists have been working for 10 years. Now that the smaller part has been proved, it's time to move to the bigger theory. It will be like widening a camera lens to focus on a bigger object," said scientist Subir Sarkar, a member of the CMS group at SINP working on the CERN experiment.
Research will now be focused on finding ways to frame the bigger model. New technology will have to be evolved for that, Sarkar said.
"It will lead us to many more new particles that we haven't been able to find or even conceptualize so far. Their masses are so great that they can't be produced without large accelerators. So, we shall have to develop new technology to produce such particles, observe and analyze them, much like what was done at CERN for 15 years. These are still early days but the possibilities are exciting ," gushed Sarkar.
Even though the standard model is being hailed across the world and its successful verification is being celebrated, the theory had its flaws, according to SINP scientists. "Apart from being just a sub-set of a bigger model, its mathematical structure is incorrect. Mathematicians don't accept it in totality. Now that the Higgs-Boson is out of the way, scientists can focus on framing a mathematically perfect model that will be flawless," added Sarkar.
Manoj Shara, another CMS group member at SINP, agreed. "The standard model is certainly not the last theory in particle physics. For the international physicist community, work has, in fact, just begun. The goal will now be a much larger one and the possibilities enormous. We have already started working on technology development to facilitate the future course of experiment at CERN. We will get a clearer picture once the CERN tunnel shuts down for research later this year," said Sharan.

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