In 2012 the ATLAS and CMS collaborations discovered a new particle that – within the present theoretical and experimental uncertainties – is consistent with the predictions for the Higgs boson of the Standard Model (SM) at a mass of about 125 GeV.…
Read moreWhen astronauts look at the Earth from orbit, they are often awed by its beauty and isolation. They speak of the overview effect; a cognitive shift to a new larger perspective that gives context and meaning to their lives. For physicists, a similar…
Read moreWithin the Standard Model (SM) the basic constituents of matter are the three "families" (two quarks and two leptons) with different quantum numbers, that completely determine the properties of these particles under the three fundamental forces…
Read moreJuly 23rd 2021 was a sad day for the world of theoretical physics, which witnessed the passing of three giants of the field: Steven Weinberg, Toshihide Maskawa and Miguel Virasoro. Weinberg and Maskawa were awarded Nobel Prizes for their…
Read moreThe potential of a post-LHC collider to explore for hints of new physics relies on technological advancements but also on theoretical developments that will allow very accurate background determinations. With a concensus growing for a lepton…
Read moreAt a fundamental level, our Universe is made of particles, forces, interactions, and the fabric of space and time. Spacetime forms the ever-evolving stage on which the play of the cosmos unfolds, while the particles are the players. They can bind…
Read moreRoberto Peccei and Helen Quinn worked together in developing what is today known as the Peccei-Quinn symmetry; a mechanism that addresses the strong CP-violation that consequently led to the invention of axions and inspired an intense experimental…
Read moreQCD, the theory of strong interactions allows the violation of CP symmetry that would result in a non-zero value for the neutron electric dipole moment. Current measurements constrain the neutron EDM to be one trillionth of the size predicted by QCD…
Read moreWhat's the point of investing fortunes into answering questions in advanced physics? 100 years ago, we might have asked the same questions of Schroedinger, Bohr, Heisenberg, Dirac, and the other pioneers of the quantum revolution. After all — what…
Read moreIt bear repeating that there must be physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). The triumphant discovery of the 125 GeV Higgs Boson sharpens the Hierarch Problem, with naturalness suggesting new particles at the TeV scale. A multitude of interlocking…
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