Date/Time
Date(s) - 17/10/2012
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: The Discovery of a Higgs-like Particle

Speaker: Dr. Pierre Savard

Institute: University of Toronto

Location: ABB 102

Description:

In July of this year, the ATLAS collaboration announced the discovery of a new particle whose properties are consistent with the Higgs boson. The search for the Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector, from the design of the experiment to the discovery, took 20 years and involved over 3000 physicists and engineers. After describing the gargantuan scientific instruments required for this search, I will go through the experimental evidence that supports the claim of a discovery. I will then give an insider’s account of what happened during the weeks leading up to the announcement of the discovery, and the subsequent submission of the paper. I will also talk about how such a large group of scientists manages to work together, approve results, and publish papers.