Higgs boson: foundations and implications of a very special discovery

Colloqui della Classe di ScienzeFabiola Gianotti, CERNHiggs boson: foundations and implications of a very special discovery

Sala Azzurra - Palazzo della CarovanaPiazza dei Cavalieri

AbstractOn 4 July 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments operating at the CERN Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of a new particle compatible with the Higgs boson, which is a crucial piece for our understanding of Fundamental Physics and thus of the structure and evolution of the Universe.This Colloquium describes the unprecedented instruments and challenges that have allowed such an accomplishment, the physical meaning and relevance of this discovery, and the present understanding of the properties of this very special particle.