Physics:Quantum Higgs field
The quantum Higgs field is a scalar field in the Standard Model whose nonzero vacuum value is associated with electroweak symmetry breaking. Its excitation is the Higgs boson. The field is central because it allows the W and Z bosons and many fermions to acquire mass while preserving the gauge structure of the electroweak theory.[1][2]
Scalar-field character
The Higgs field is a scalar field, meaning its simplest observable value does not carry a spatial direction like a vector field. In the electroweak theory it is arranged as a complex field with components that interact with gauge and matter fields.[3]
Vacuum value
The Higgs field has a nonzero value even in the lowest-energy state. This vacuum value changes the form of the electroweak fields and produces massive weak bosons while leaving the photon massless.[4]
Higgs boson
Small excitations around the vacuum value appear as Higgs bosons. Measurements of Higgs production and decay test whether this field behaves as predicted or whether additional scalar fields or interactions are present.[5]
See also
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References
- ↑ "Higgs field". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_field.
- ↑ "Review of Particle Physics". Physical Review D 110 (3): 030001. 2024. DOI 10.1103/PhysRevD.110.030001.
- ↑ Schwartz, Matthew D. (2014). Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-03473-0.
- ↑ Peskin, Michael E.; Schroeder, Daniel V. (1995). An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0-201-50397-5.
- ↑ "Review of Particle Physics". Physical Review D 110 (3): 030001. 2024. DOI 10.1103/PhysRevD.110.030001.
Source attribution: Physics:Quantum Higgs field