An Updated Historical Profile of the Higgs Boson

TL;DR

This paper reviews the historical development of Higgs boson research, from its theoretical proposal in 1964 to its experimental discovery in 2012 and subsequent property measurements, highlighting key milestones and current understanding.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive historical overview of Higgs boson research, summarizing theoretical predictions, experimental searches, and the significance of the 2012 discovery.

Findings

Discovery of a Higgs-like particle at 125 GeV in 2012

Measured properties are consistent with the Standard Model

No signs of new physics beyond the Standard Model so far

Abstract

The Higgs boson was postulated in 1964, and phenomenological studies of its possible production and decays started in the early 1970s, followed by studies of its possible production in electron-positron, antiproton-proton and proton-proton collisions, in particular. Until recently, the most sensitive searches for the Higgs boson were at LEP between 1989 and 2000, which were complemented by searches at the Fermilab Tevatron. Then the LHC experiments ATLAS and CMS entered the hunt, announcing on July 4, 2012 the discovery of a "Higgs-like" particle with a mass of about 125~GeV. This identification has been supported by subsequent measurements of its spin, parity and coupling properties. It was widely anticipated that the Higgs boson would be accompanied by supersymmetry, although other options, like compositeness, were not completely excluded. So far there are no signs any new physics, and the measured properties of the Higgs boson are consistent with the predictions of the minimal Standard Model. This article reviews some of the key historical developments in Higgs physics over the past half-century.