May 2, 2024

Higgs Boson Unveils New Secrets: Rare Decay Detected at Large Hadron Collider

At the Large Hadron Collider Physics (LHCP) conference last week, ATLAS and CMS report how they collaborated to find the very first proof of the rare procedure in which the Higgs boson decays into a Z boson, the electrically neutral carrier of the weak force, and a photon, the provider of the electromagnetic force. This Higgs boson decay might supply indirect evidence of the presence of particles beyond those predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.
The decay of the Higgs boson into a Z boson and a photon is similar to that of a decay into two photons. In these processes, the Higgs boson does not decay directly into these pairs of particles.
Prospect occasions from ATLAS (left) and CMS (best) for a Higgs boson decomposing into a Z boson and a photon, with the Z boson rotting into a pair of muons. Credit: CERN
The Standard Model predicts that, if the Higgs boson has a mass of around 125 billion electronvolts, roughly 0.15% of Higgs bosons will decay into a Z boson and a photon. Some theories that extend the Standard Model anticipate a different decay rate. Determining the decay rate, for that reason, supplies valuable insights into both physics beyond the Standard Model and the nature of the Higgs boson.
Previously, utilizing data from proton– proton collisions at the LHC, ATLAS, and CMS separately carried out substantial look for the decay of the Higgs boson into a Z boson and a photon. Both searches utilized comparable strategies, recognizing the Z boson through its decays into pairs of electrons or muons– heavier versions of electrons. These Z boson decays occur in about 6.6% of the cases.
In these searches, crash occasions related to this Higgs boson decay (the signal) would be identified as a narrow peak, over a smooth background of events, in the circulation of the combined mass of the decay products. To boost the level of sensitivity to the decay, ATLAS and CMS made use of the most frequent modes in which the Higgs boson is produced and categorised events based on the qualities of these production procedures. They also used sophisticated machine-learning methods to further distinguish in between signal and background events.
In a new research study, ATLAS and CMS have now joined forces to take full advantage of the result of their search. By combining the data sets gathered by both experiments during the 2nd run of the LHC, which happened in between 2015 and 2018, the partnerships have actually substantially increased the analytical precision and reach of their searches.
This collective effort resulted in the first evidence of the Higgs boson decay into a Z boson and a photon. The result has an analytical significance of 3.4 basic deviations, which is below the traditional requirement of 5 standard variances to claim an observation. The determined signal rate is 1.9 standard deviations above the Standard Model prediction.
” Each particle has a special relationship with the Higgs boson, making the search for rare Higgs decays a high concern,” states ATLAS physics planner Pamela Ferrari. “Through a careful combination of the specific outcomes of ATLAS and CMS, we have actually made a step forward towards unwinding yet another riddle of the Higgs boson.”
” The presence of new particles could have really considerable impacts on uncommon Higgs decay modes,” says CMS physics organizer Florencia Canelli. “This research study is an effective test of the Standard Model. With the ongoing third run of the LHC and the future High-Luminosity LHC, we will be able to improve the precision of this test and probe ever rarer Higgs rots.”

CERNs ATLAS and CMS groups have actually discovered initial proof of an uncommon Higgs boson decay into a Z boson and photon. Credit: CERN The ATLAS and CMS partnerships have joined forces to develop the very first proof of the unusual decay of the Higgs boson into a Z boson and a photon.The ATLAS and CMS cooperations at CERNs Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have revealed the very first proof of the Higgs boson rotting into a Z boson and a photon, a rare procedure that could provide indirect proof of particles beyond those anticipated by the Standard Model of particle physics.
The decay of the Higgs boson into a Z boson and a photon is comparable to that of a decay into two photons. The Standard Model anticipates that, if the Higgs boson has a mass of around 125 billion electronvolts, roughly 0.15% of Higgs bosons will decay into a Z boson and a photon. Previously, using data from proton– proton accidents at the LHC, ATLAS, and CMS separately performed comprehensive searches for the decay of the Higgs boson into a Z boson and a photon.

CERNs ATLAS and CMS groups have discovered initial evidence of an unusual Higgs boson decay into a Z boson and photon. The discovery, while not fulfilling standard statistical significance, provides valuable insights and potential indirect evidence of undiscovered particles and physics beyond the Standard Model. Credit: CERN The ATLAS and CMS cooperations have actually joined forces to develop the very first proof of the rare decay of the Higgs boson into a Z boson and a photon.The ATLAS and CMS cooperations at CERNs Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have actually discovered the very first proof of the Higgs boson decaying into a Z boson and a photon, an uncommon procedure that might supply indirect evidence of particles beyond those forecasted by the Standard Model of particle physics.
The discovery of the Higgs boson at CERNs Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012 marked a substantial turning point in particle physics. Since then, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations have actually been diligently investigating the residential or commercial properties of this special particle and searching to develop the different methods in which it is produced and decays into other particles.