Could Higgs Boson Explain Evolution of the Universe?

Higgs Boson, the greatest riddle in all of physics, may hold the key to understanding the evolution of the universe from its birth, a group of physicists at Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne (EPFL) say.

The race is still on for CERN scientists to identify the elusive Higgs Boson, which is considered the Holy Grail of particle physics. Scientists say this 'God' particle would also help to explain why the majority of elementary particles have mass, and that the universe wouldn't be the same without it.

Scientists say the Universe extends over billions of light-years and that it was incredibly tiny at its birth then rapidly grew. Physicists have added an inflationary phase to the Big Bang, an initial phenomenal expansion in which the Universe grew by a factor of 10^26 in a very short time.

Astrophysicists are measuring the state of the universe today by using data from the Planck satellite. They are observing the light echo from the Big Bang, which reveals the large scale properties of the cosmos.

However, they have a hard time accounting for this growth and believe that in its first moments, the universe was incredibly dense.

They ask why is it that under those conditions, why wouldn't gravity slow down its initial expansion?

Enter Higgs Boson

Mikhail Shaposhnikov and his team from EPFL's Laboratory of Particle Physics and Cosmology believe Higgs Boson can explain the speed and magnitude of the expansion.

According to the team, in this infant Universe, the Higgs Boson, in a condensate phase, would have performed in a very special way, and by doing so it changed the laws of physics. The force of gravity, the physicist say, would've been reduced, and therefore, they can explain how the universe expanded at such a rapid rate.

We have determined that when the Higgs condensate disappeared to make way for the particles that exist today, the equations permitted the existence of a new, massless particle, the dilaton, EPFL physicist Daniel Zenhäusern says via press release.

The physicists arrived at this conclusion by applying a mathematical principle known as scale invariance. Starting with the Higgs Boson, the physicists were able to determine the existence of the dilaton, which is a close cousin, as well as its properties.

They say this new, yet purely theoretical particle has the exact characteristics to explain the existence of dark energy. This particular energy offers explanation as to why the expansion of the current universe is once again accelerating, physicists say.

Physicists don't yet understand its origins, but they say this completely unexpected result means they are on to something.

If their theory so happens to be verified with data from the Planck satellite, it would clear up several questions about the Universe's, past and future, scientists say.

Back in July, physicists were excited when CERN scientists reported they glimpsed the Higgs Boson particle. Those signals have since faded, dashing the hopes of researchers who have long been trying to find the particle believed to give objects mass.

But researchers aren't prepared to give up, as they still believe they will either have found the particle by the end of next year or confirmed that it doesn't exist in the form proposed by the Standard Model.

I think it has always been a possibility that the Higgs would not be there but I don't think we are ready to say that at this moment, said physicist Howard Gordon, deputy US ATLAS operations program manager.