Peter Higgs
Peter Higgs | |
|---|---|
 Higgs in 2013 | |
| Born | Peter Ware Higgs 29 May 1929 |
| Died | 8 April 2024 (aged 94) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | King's College London |
| Known for | Broken symmetry in electroweak theory Higgs boson Higgs field Higgs mechanism |
| Awards | Wolf Prize in Physics (2004) Sakurai Prize (2010) Dirac Medal (1997) Nobel Prize in Physics (2013) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics (theoretical) |
| Institutions | University of Edinburgh Imperial College London University College London |
| Thesis | Some problems in the theory of molecular vibrations (1955) |
| Doctoral advisor | Charles Coulson |
| Doctoral students | Christopher Bishop Lewis Ryder David Wallace |
Peter Ware Higgs CH FRS FRSE (29 May 1929 – 8 April 2024) was an English theoretical physicist, and emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh.[1]
Works
[change | change source]He was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for predicting the existence of the Higgs boson, the "most sought-after particle in modern physics".[2][3] Higgs shared the prize with François Englert.[4] Higgs was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2013.[5][6]
In the 1960s, he proposed broken symmetry in electroweak theory. This explains the origin of mass of elementary particles in general. It also shows the origin of the W and Z bosons. The theory known as Higgs mechanism was proposed by several physicists at the same time. It proposes the existence of a new particle, the Higgs boson. On 4 July 2012, CERN announced they had found a new particle much like the Higgs boson in experiments,[7] but that more work was necessary to analyse its properties and see if it had the properties expected from the Standard Model Higgs boson.[8]
The Higgs mechanism is generally accepted as an important part of the Standard Model of particle physics, without which particles would have no mass.[9]
Higgs has received a number of awards. These include the 1997 Dirac Medal and Prize for outstanding contributions to theoretical physics, the 2004 Wolf Prize in Physics, and the 2010 Sakurai Prize.
Death
[change | change source]Higgs died after a short illness at home in Edinburgh, Scotland on 8 April 2024, at the age of 94.[10]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Griggs, Jessica. "The Missing Piece" from Edit the University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine Summer 2008, p17
- ↑ Griffiths, Martin 2007. physicsworld.com The Tale of the Blog's Boson Retrieved on 27 May 2008
- ↑ Fermilab Today (16 June 2005) Fermilab results of the week. Top quarks are Higgs' best friend Retrieved on 27 May 2008
- ↑ Amos, Jonathan 2013. Higgs: Five decades of noble endeavour BBC News Science and Environmentt, Retrieved 8 October 2013
- ↑ "No. 60367". The London Gazette. 2012.
- ↑ Rincon, Paul (28 December 2012). "Peter Higgs: honour for physicist who proposed particle". BBC News website. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ↑ "Higgs boson-like particle discovery claimed at LHC". BBC. 4 July 2012.
- ↑ "CERN Press Release: CERN experiments observe particle consistent with long-sought Higgs boson". Cdsweb.cern.ch. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
- ↑ Rincon, Paul 2004. Fermilab 'God Particle' may have been seen Retrieved on 2008-05-27
- ↑ Carrell, Severin (2024-04-09). "Peter Higgs, physicist who discovered Higgs boson, dies aged 94". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
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