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In search of symmetry lost

Nature volume 433, pages 239–247 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Powerful symmetry principles have guided physicists in their quest for nature's fundamental laws. The successful gauge theory of electroweak interactions postulates a more extensive symmetry for its equations than are manifest in the world. The discrepancy is ascribed to a pervasive symmetry-breaking field, which fills all space uniformly, rendering the Universe a sort of exotic superconductor. So far, the evidence for these bold ideas is indirect. But soon the theory will undergo a critical test depending on whether the quanta of this symmetry-breaking field, the so-called Higgs particles, are produced at the Large Hadron Collider (due to begin operation in 2007).

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Figure 1: Visual metaphors for gauge symmetry and superconductivity.
Figure 2: Gauge symmetry and the Higgs condensate.
Figure 3: Constraints on the mass of the Higgs boson from experimental data.
Figure 4: Higgs couplings.
Figure 5: Unification of the forces.

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  1. The Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    Frank Wilczek

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Wilczek, F. In search of symmetry lost. Nature 433, 239–247 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03281

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