Equations · equation
Higgs Potential
Particle Physics · 1964
- Equation
- V(φ) = −μ²|φ|² + λ|φ|⁴
- Field
- Particle Physics
- Named After
- Peter Higgs · Brout · Englert
- Symbols
- φ the Higgs field · μ², λ parameters shaping the potential · the minus sign puts the minimum away from zero — the 'Mexican hat'
- Year
- 1964
Significance
A field whose lowest-energy state is not zero, so all of space sits in it — and particles wading through acquire mass. Proposed in 1964, confirmed at CERN in 2012 when the field's own ripple, the Higgs boson, finally showed itself.
Referenced by
equation
event
theory
Open on the Equations shelf — the interactive card, the filters, and everything alongside it.