Erstellt am: 4. 7. 2012 - 15:11 Uhr

A new boson, but is it really the Higgs?

Reality Check: The 'discovery' of what could be the Higgs boson; Poland grants amnesty to hundreds of migrants.

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A computer genenrated image shows the 'typical candidate' event, including two high-energy photons whose energy (depicted by red towers) is measured in the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter. The yellow lines are the measured tracks of other particles produced in the collision. Photo: EPA/CERN

The 'discovery' of the Higgs boson
I’m no particle physicist, but I think I am still entitled to be at least a bit excited by the news from CERN this morning about the discovery of a new subatomic particle which could be consistent with the long-sought Higgs boson. The Higgs boson is also known as “the God particle” because it helps explain what gives all matter in the universe size and shape. One physicist put it like this: “to KNOW that our maths, our equations, all our Greek symbols tell us some deep truth about what everything is made of, to have that verified with the discover of the Higgs, THAT is one of the great, great moments in science”.

FM4 / Joanna Bostock

Austria is one of the 20 European member states involved in CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, and the Institute of High Energy Physics in Vienna is involved in CERN research. So what better place to get a first-hand reaction from the experts? HEPHY is hidden away in the 5th district, and apart from a sign over the door, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s just another unspectacular apartment building. But inside, I discovered a lively crowd of scientists drinking Sekt and watching the live feed from CERN.

Their excitement was palpable: “ich bin ganz einfach überglücklich” tells me one PhD student, while another calls today’s announcement “ein riesiges Ereignis”.

FM4 / Joanna Bostock

The entrance corridor in HEPHY is decorated with pictures of the Large Hadron Collider.

This “event” was the presentation in Geneva this morning at which scientists from two teams, CMS and ATLAS, who’ve been searching for the Higgs boson, explained their latest findings.That presentation was in the complicated language of particle physics. I was able to ask the Deputy Director of HEPHY, Manfred Krammer, to explain it in more simple terms for non-scientists like myself:

Poland's amnesty for irregular migrants
Austrian law lets police detain illegal or officially registered immigrants, while their asylum applications are being reviewed and this process could take up to three years. Poland has decided to bypass detainment and a lengthy application route by implementing an illegal migrant amnesty. It is the third such amnesty since 2003 which seems to indicate the idea of letting people come forward to become official citizens, is a system that works on many levels. Polish Radio’s John Beauchamp told Riem Higazi more…