Scientists Narrow Search For 'God Particle'

Thomas Moore, science correspondent

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland claim to have narrowed the search for the "Higgs Boson", knowns as the elusive "God particle".

Two independent teams of researches working at the Cern physics research centre in Switzerland say the particle is more likely to be found in lower mass or energy ranges.

:: Q&A on the Higgs Boson

Fabiola Gianotti, an Italian physicist who heads the team running what's called the ATLAS experiment, said "the hottest region" is in lower energy ranges of the collider.
She said there are indications of the Higgs' existence and that with enough data it could be unambiguously discovered or ruled out next year.
Several mass or energy ranges within the atom smasher are now excluded to a "95% confidence level," she told other physicists at Cern.

Guido Tonelli, lead physicist for the team running what is called the CMS experiment, outlined similar findings, saying that the particle is most likely found "in the low mass region" of the collider.
The Higgs particle, or boson, is a key missing piece in the most widely accepted theory of physics - called the Standard Model - which describes how particles and forces interact.

"I am feeling quite a level of excitement," said Oliver Buchmueller, one of the senior scientists seeking the particle following the latest developments.

For more than a year, scientists at Cern have been firing particles in opposite directions around a 27km long ring-shaped tunnel 100 metres below ground.

When the particles have accelerated to almost the speed of light, they are encouraged to collide. Sensitive detectors are then used to examine the debris for new particles.

There is still a possibility that the findings are down to chance disturbances, rather than a real observation. Further tests are planned.

"We are moving very close to a conclusion in the first few months of next year," said Dr Buchmueller.

The £6bn experiment is an attempt to replicate the conditions shortly after the universe was created 13.7 billion years ago in the Big Bang.

The Standard Model of physics predicts that sub-atomic particles should have no mass.

But, according to the theory proposed by some scientists, an invisible Higgs force field and an associated boson were created soon after the Big Bang.

These create a drag on other particles, giving them mass.

If the Cern experiments confirm the Higgs boson exists, it would fix the biggest hole in the Standard Model - and give credence to what has been a largely mathematical model of how the universe works.

But, if they showed it does not exist, it would shake the foundations of modern physics and force a massive rethink on the forces that glue the universe together.