Elementary particle

When theoretical physicists like myself say that we’re studying why the universe exists, we sound like philosophers. But new data collected by researchers using Japan’s Subaru telescope has revealed insights into that very question.First Full-Color Images From Webb Space TelescopeThe Big Bang kick-started the universe as we know it 13.8 billion years ago. Many theories in particle physics suggest that for all the matter created at the universe’s conception, an equal amount of antimatter should have been created alongside…

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector in a tunnel of the Large Hadron Collider.Photo: VALENTIN FLAURAUD/AFP (Getty Images)On July 4, 2012, scientists at CERN confirmed the observation of the Higgs boson, an elementary particle first proposed in the 1960s. The boson’s discovery was a momentous occasion, as it meant physicists were a step closer to probing the field associated with the boson, which gives particles mass.But since 2012, particle physics hasn’t had another seismic event. Important discoveries have been…