God particle glimpsed?

Nothing makes my ears prick up more than a rumour that the Higgs boson has been found. For years physicists have been searching for this fleeting speck of matter using the most powerful colliders they have to hand at CERN and Fermilab. The Higgs boson tops the list of physicists? most-wanted discoveries - some have even dubbed it the God particle.

So when I stumbled across a blog by Tommaso Dorigosuggesting that his experiment might just have found the Higgs, I avidly read on.

Dorigo is in the know. He is a particle physicist at the University of Padova in Italy and works on the CDF experiment (pictured), one of two vast detectors built to analyse collisions between protons and antiprotons at Fermilab?s Tevatron accelerator.

The rumour that CDF has seen the Higgs is already spreading.

So why the fuss? Our best theory of matter and the forces that glue it together predicts that the Higgs is what gives other particles their mass.

You?re made up of atoms - some of us more than others. And atoms get their mass from the protons, neutrons and electrons inside. But start asking where electrons and the quarks that reside inside protons and neutrons get their mass from and you?ve hit one of the biggest unknowns in physics.

In the 1960s, theorist Peter Higgs at the University of Edinburgh worked out a mechanism to do it, involving a particle later named after him. It?s our best stab at an answer, so finding the Higgs is a really big deal.

In the CDF experiment, the energy created when protons and antiprotons smash together transforms itself via the equation E=mc² into massive particles, including (physicists hope) the Higgs. In fact, recent results from CDF showed in a roundabout way that the Higgs should probably weigh no more than about 153 GeV, or 160 times heavier than a proton and well within reach of the Tevatron.

According to theory, the Higgs boson lives for less than the blink of an eye before decaying into other particles. Among the easiest to spot amid all the detritus in the detector should be the decay to two heavy electron-like particles called taus. From the momentum and energy of the tau pairs, the CDF team can work out the mass of the mother particle.

CDF found a small bump in their mass plot near 160 GeV ? on the fringes of the allowed range. Dorigo is careful to point out that the statistical significance of the result is not yet strong enough to claim a discovery. The measurement lies only two standard deviations outside the theory.

?We?d need 3 standard deviations before we claimed we?d seen a hint of the Higgs,? says Mark Lancaster, a particle physicist at University College London and a CDF team member, ?and we?d need 5 standard deviations before we said anything officially.?

My guess is that when the experiment collects more data, this enigmatic signal will disappear. Which would be a shame. I?d love the Tevatron to find the Higgs before the next big atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, gets into its stride.

Though the LHC is due to turn on later this year, it will take months or years to get enough collisions to claim a discovery.

So there still a chance that the Tevatron could pip the LHC to one of the biggest prizes in physics. It?s just what particle physics, especially in the US, needs to maintain the public?s interest and government funding.

Dorigo?s blog raises another interesting point. Particle physics is big science and its collaborations are getting bigger. More than 400 physicists are members of the CDF team. At the LHC, the teams are 1800 strong. With so many team members and the ever fattening blogosphere, how will the teams stop news of their results from leaking out before they are ready to publish? And should they even try to stop it?

Valerie Jamieson, features editor (Image of Central Detector at CDF: Fermilab)

'God' particle not a heavyweight, studies suggest

The possibility of a high-mass Higgs boson may have just evaporated with new data released today by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. The result could mean a tougher, more protracted search for a welterweight version of the Higgs, the much-sought-after subatomic particle whose discovery would be a major triumph for particle physics and bring fame to the team who finds it first.

At the heart of the new result is a more precise measurement of the W boson. This is a well known particle, a mediator of the weak force, whose mass is theoretically linked to the Higgs.

The improved measurement will undoubtedly narrow the range of allowable values for the Higgs mass, and may well close off a narrow window on the upper end of that range where direct searches have not yet penetrated.

Prior to last summer, the Higgs was known to reside somewhere in an energy range between 114 Gev and 185 Gev (assuming it exists at all). This is near the limit of where Fermilab's Tevatron can reliably search, but over time researchers have steadily amassed data that could reveal or rule out the Higgs at various energies.

In August, researchers announced they had excluded a value near 170 GeV, the energy where it would be statistically easiest to separate the Higgs signal from background noise. Since then, the possibility that the Higgs might be seen first by the Tevatron, rather than by its successor, the Large Hadron Collider in Europe, has added incentive and drama to the search.

The improved W boson measurement released today was performed by DZero, one of the Tevatrons's two key detectors. The new value, which researchers kept hidden even from themselves until last week, to avoid bias, is 80.401 +/- .044 GeV. This is remarkably close to the current world average of 80.398 GeV.

The chief impact of the measurement is not its value but how much it will reduce the overall uncertainty in the W boson mass. According to Heidi Schellman of Northwestern University, that error could shrink by as much as 10% once it is combined with other measurements. This, in turn, could drop the upper limit on the Higgs mass by 5 GeV or more, making the remaining space between 170 and 180 GeV uncomfortably tight, even for a tiny particle like the Higgs.

"If someone is trying to sell you a 175 GeV Higgs, I wouldn't buy it," Schellman told me.

The news comes just ahead of a widely anticipated announcement on Friday from DZero and its counterpart, CDF, that a wider swath of values around 170 GeV have now been excluded. In other words, a heavy Higgs could be gone by the weekend.

If so, attention will shift to a region below 160 GeV where it is somewhat harder for both the Tevatron and the LHC to see the Higgs. Tevatron seems to be at an advantage, however, because it is working steadily and gradually building up data, while the LHC is on the sidelines following a liquid helium spill last fall.

Earlier this week, researchers at Fermilab also announced they've spotted collisions that produce single top quarks. Such collisions are easily concealed by background noise. Their discovery reinforces predictions that Fermilab should be able to spot a Higgs boson as light as 120 GeV by late 2010.

The Higgs boson is the last undiscovered particle in the so-called Standard Model of particle physics. A first discovery of the Higgs at Fermilab would be electrifying for a facility that is perceived as having long passed its heyday and a shot in the arm for US experimental physicists who have felt that the momentum in their field has shifted to Europe. Researchers agree that even if the Higgs is spotted first at Fermilab, the LHC will still be needed to confirm the find and to explore the new physics that lies beyond, as researchers move into a high-energy domain where the Tevatron cannot follow. 

Illustration: The green shading in the graphs above shows the masses that seem to be ruled out for the Higgs boson. Today's new W boson result lowers the upper limit to an estimated 180 GeV or less. Friday's result is expected to significantly grow the excluded range around 170 GeV, which could seal off the right-hand window of possible values completely. (Courtesy of Dmitri Denisov, DZero)

Health in Your Hand: Seven Mudras for Amazing Health Benefits

 

Mudras are very powerful. If you practice these mudras regularly you can see the wonderful health benefits.

1. Gyan Mudra (Mudra of Knowledge):  Method:  Touch the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger, with the other three fingers stretched out.  Specialty:  As it is a mudra of knowledge, it enhances the knowledge. The tip of thumb has centers of pituitary and endocrine glands. When we press these centers by index finger the two glands work actively.  Time duration:  There is no particular time duration for this mudra. You can practice by sitting, standing or lying on bed whenever and wherever you have time.  Benefits:  O Increases memory power and sharpens the brain  O Enhances concentration and prevents Insomnia  O If we practice it regularly, it will cure all psychological disorders like Mental, Hysteria, Anger and Depression  2. Prithvi Mudra (Mudra of Earth):  Method:  Tip of the ring finger touches the tip of the thumb, with the other three fingers stretched out.  Specialty:  It reduces all physical weaknesses.  Time Duration:  It has no particular time duration. You can practice it any time you want.  Benefits:  O It helps to increase the weight for weak people  O It improves the complexion of skin and makes the skin to glow  O It makes the body active by keeping it healthy  3. Varuna Mudra (Mudra of Water):  Method:  Tip of little finger touches the tip of thumb, with the other three fingers stretched out.  Specialty:  It balances the water content and prevents all diseases which come due to lack of water.  Time Duration:  It has no specific time duration and one can practice it according to their time.  Benefits:  O It retains clarity in blood by balancing water content in the body  O Prevents the pains of Gastroenteritis and Muscle Shrinkage  4. Vayu Mudra (Mudra of Air):  Method:  Keep the index finger on the base of the thumb and press with thumb keeping the other three fingers straight.  Specialty:  It prevents all the diseases that occur due to the imbalance of the air.  Time Duration:  The practice of this mudra for 45 minutes reduces the severity of the disease in 12 to 24 hours. For better results practice it for two months.  Benefits:  O It cures Rheumatism, Arthritis, Gout, Parkinson's disease and paralysis without any medicine  O It is useful for Cervical Spondilytis, paralysis to face and catching of nerve in neck  O It corrects the disorder of gas in the stomach  5. Shunya Mudra (Mudra of Emptiness):  Method:  Keep the middle finger at the mount of Venus and press it with thumb.  Specialty:  It reduces the dullness in our body.  Time Duration:  One can practice it for 40 to 60 minutes daily until to be cured from the disease.  Benefits:  O It relieves an earache within 4 or 5 minutes  O It is useful for the deaf and mentally challenged, but not for inborn ones.  6. Surya Mudra (Mudra of Sun):  Method:  Bend the ring finger and press it with thumb.  Specialty:  It sharpens the center in thyroid gland.  Time Duration:  Practice it daily twice for 5 to 15 minutes.  Benefits:  O It reduces cholesterol in body and helps in reducing weight  O It reduces anxiety  O It corrects indigestion problems  7. Prana Mudra (Mudra of Life):  Method:  Bend ring finger and little finger and touch the tip of thumb with their tips keeping the remaining two fingers stretched.  Specialty:  As it is the mudra of life, it improves the power of life. Weak people become strong. It reduces the clamps in blood vessels. If we practice it regularly, we will become active.  Time Duration:  No specific time duration. One can practice it any time.  Benefits:  O It improves immunity  O Improves the power of eyes and reduces eye related diseases  O It removes the vitamin deficiency and fatigue  8. Apana Mudra (Mudra of Digestion):  Method:  The tips of middle finger and ring finger touch the tip of thumb while the other two fingers are stretched out.  Specialty:  It plays an important role in our health as it regulates the excretory system.  Time Duration:  Practice it daily for 45 minutes, but practice for longer time yields more benefits.  Benefits:  O It regulates diabetes  o It cures constipation and piles  o It helps excreting the normal waste regularly  9. Apana Vayu Mudra (Mudra of Heart):  Method:  The tips of the middle finger and ring finger touch the tip of thumb, while the index finger touches the base of thumb and little finger stretched out.  Specialty:  It benefits the heart. It works like injection in the reduction of heart attack. It is as powerful as sorbitate tablet. It reduces the gas content in body.  Time Duration:  Practice it as many times as you can. Heart patients and BP patients can practice it for 15 minutes daily twice for better results.  Benefits:  o It strengthens the heart and regularizes palpitation  o It regulates excretory system  o It redeems gastric trouble  10. Linga Mudra (Mudra of Heat):  Method:  Interlock the fingers of both the hands and keep the thumb of the left hand vertically straight and encircle it with the thumb and the index finger of the right hand..  Specialty:  It generates heat in our body. Take milk, ghee, more water and fruit juices in addition to practice of this mudra for much benefits.  Time Duration:  Practice it any time you want. But don't practice it a lot as it produces heat in the body.. It can cause sweating even in winter if you practice it longer.  Benefits:  o It stops production of phlegm and gives power to lungs  o It cures severe cold and bronchial infection  o It invigorates the body  It is amazing but true. If you want to see the results, start today!