The origin of Electroweak symmetry breaking is one of the central topics of research in fundamental physics. The discovery of a Higgs boson at CERN on July 4th, 2012, following a hunt that spanned several decades and multiple colliders, changed the landscape of these investigations and provided key evidence for the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism of mass generation through the spontaneous breaking of Electroweak symmetry.
More than ten years later, the hunt goes on several fronts, in particular for:
- New physics through precision studies of the properties of the Higgs boson : in particular its mass, spin and couplings to other Standard Model particles.
- New production and decay modes, in particular in processes involving multiple Higgs bosons which provide key insight into the shape of the Higgs potential.
- New Higgs-like states and signals for physics beyond the Standard Model.
The 16th workshop of the « Higgs Hunting » series organized on September 16-18, 2026 will present an overview of these topics, focusing in particular on new developments in the LHC Run-2 analyses, detailed studies of Higgs boson properties and possible deviations from Standard Model predictions. Highlights will also include new results from LHC Run 3 analyses, prospects from studies at future colliders, and recent theoretical developments.
The workshop will be held in person in Orsay, for the first day and Paris for the two following days, to continue the Higgs Hunting tradition of lively discussions during and after the sessions. Remote participation will also be made possible for those unable to attend in person. No registration fees are asked for remote participation.
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The existence of the Brout-Englert-Higgs field was proved in 2012 with the discovery of its associated particle by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC. The following year, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to François Englert and Peter Higgs since Robert Brout had already passed away at this time.
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François Englert passed away on June 18th 2026. In 1964 , together with Robert Brout, he proposed that spontaneous symmetry breaking could provide masses for the mediators of the weak interactions, the W and Z bosons. At the same time, British physicist Peter Higgs had independently hypothesised the existence of the same mechanism.
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Jeffrey Goldstone passed away on 12 October 2026. His 1960 paper on spontaneously broken (global) symmetries, Nuovo Cim. 19 (1961) 154-164 is a landmark in our field. This paper discusses the "mexican hat" potential with its radial excitation of mass −2μ2 that was to describe later the (Brout-Englert-)Higgs boson as well as the
corresponding massless (Nambu-)Goldstone boson. The Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism emerged when theorists attempted to make the latter disappear in the framework of spontaneously broken local gauge symmetries.
He later turned focused on other areas of research, in particular making pioneering contributions to the emerging field of quantum computing.
The Higgs Hunting workshop expresses its deepest condolences to his friends and family. |
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