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Higgs10: Ten things we've learned about the Higgs boson in the last ten years

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Since its discovery in 2012, the Higgs boson has become one of the most powerful tools for investigating our understanding of nature and, with it, examining some of the biggest open questions in physics today. But what have we physicists learned about particles in the last ten years? Scalar particles exist in nature In the early hours of July 4, 2012, the foyer outside CERN’s main lecture hall looked more like a venue for a rock concert than the main building of the world’s leading particle physics laboratory. Dozens of students with groggy eyes slowly rolled up their sleeping bags, stretching after a long night on the hard floor. A long line of hundreds weaved through the foyer, around the restaurant and outside the door. The excitement in the line was throbbing – although the chances of getting into the auditorium were slim, just to be there was already thrilling. We’ve found it. A scalar particle exists in nature and July 4, 2012 is its debut. It’s heavy...

Two experts decipher the first images of the James Webb Space Telescope, and explain what we've learned

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Today we take a look at the release of the first batch of images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. This is something we have both been waiting for for almost 25 years. Back in those days, we analyzed the first Hubble images of the distant universe, and the details they reveal are staggering compared to anything we’ve seen in ground-based images. It seems the bar has been raised once again, and Webb is set to herald a new era for astronomy and space research. Its large mirror helps it produce images that are two to three times sharper than Hubble’s, and that go much deeper into space (which means it can see dimmer sources). Webb was also able to see far redder infrared wavelengths, opening up new views of the universe. This is particularly important for studying the early universe because of “cosmological redshift,” a process that refers to the stretching of light (with the expansion of the universe) as it travels through cosmic space. It’s als...