The discovery of
the Higgs particle was met with excitement among scientists at India’s Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research, who participated in the project through the
CMS experiment.
Wednesday July 4, which incidentally coincides with
America’s Independence Day, will always remain an important day in the world of
science because of the much-awaited announcement about the discovery of the
elusive Higgs Boson at Geneva, the headquarters of CERN.
The discovery is a historic moment in modern physics as
it is expected to throw light onto one’s understanding about the universe. It
marks a major milestone as it will explain why atoms in the galaxies, stars,
and the earth have mass.
Peter Higgs, the 83-year-old British physicist who first
proposed the existence of the Higgs Boson in the 60s was at CERN on Wednesday
to receive the news.
On hearing the announcement, he became emotional and shed
a few tears of joy and said that he and his family will uncork the champagne
bottle!
An announcement from CERN said that two experiments
designated as Atlas and CMS found hints of the new particle by analyzing
trillions of proton-proton collisions from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in
2011-2012. The 10 billion dollar LHC is located in a tunnel below the
Swiss-French border.
Quoting the Atlas spokesperson, Fabiola Giaotti, the
announcement said: “We observe in our data clear signs of a new particle.”
CMS experiment spokesperson, Joe Incandela said: “The
results are preliminary, but the five sigma signal at around 125 GeV we’re
seeing is dramatic. This is indeed a new particle. We know it must be boson and
it is the heaviest boson ever found,” he said.
The finding caused a lot of excitement among scientists
at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai because the
institute, the cradle of India’s space and nuclear program, participated in the
project through the CMS experiment.
A few hours after the announcement, a former chairman of
the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Rajgpopal Chidambaram, said: “It is the
most exciting thing which has happened today, and in the days ahead more
analysis and research will be done.”
He was happy about India’s participation in the project
though the CMS detector in which TIFR has partnered.
Another former AEC chief Anil Kakodkar said that many
people were looking forward to this discovery. “Yes, today is a big day for
science,” he added.
M. R. Srinivasan, member of AEC and former chairman of
the commission said that the discovery will help in providing a better
understanding of the physical world and “explain some unexplained phenomena” in
the universe such as Dark Energy.
He said: “Unquestionably, it is a great achievement and
Prof Peter Higgs, the British physicist who proposed the existence of the Higgs
Boson in the 60′s, is in line for getting the Nobel Prize.”
Asked if it was a small step since more analysis was
required, N. K. Mondal of TIFR’s High Energy Physics department disagreed and
called the discovery a “big step.” In a brief interaction with the media he
said: “We feel great because TIFR has played a role in this project.”
Amol Dighe, a professor in TIFR’s department of
theoretical physics, explained that the Higgs Particle was very different from
other particles. “Today it is 99.99 percent sure that it had been discovered.
Earlier it was 90 percent. I was all along optimistic that it will be
discovered,” he said.
Dighe said that further experiments to find out how the
particle interacts will be done. “The strength of the interaction should be
proportionate to the mass,” he added.
India and CERN signed an agreement for collaboration in
1991 and the country was elevated to an observer status by CERN in 2002. Indian
labs over the years have delivered sub-systems and provided expert help.
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