The Higgs Mechanism: Unveiling Mass Generation

This lecture delves into the Higgs mechanism, which solves the issue of massless gauge bosons in electroweak unification. By introducing a scalar field with a non-zero vacuum expectation value, the mechanism gives mass to gauge bosons and fermions. The lecture explains the analogy of massless photons propagating through a plasma behaving as massive particles in a vacuum. It also covers the predictions for masses of gauge bosons and the challenges faced in precision tests of the standard model. The lecture concludes with the historical hunt for the Higgs boson at LEP and the significant discoveries made at the LHC.