Unique Waves

Ramón Peluyera

Physics has revolutionized the world in unimaginable ways granting us the gift of knowledge throughout the ages. One of all the amazing and fascinating subjects of Physics that interest me the most is that of waves. Humanity uses it on a daily basis whether we are aware of it or not. Communications of all types are under the same category since waves are necessary for us to understand one another. Most waves have been discovered and studied by physicist and they are aware of their characteristics.  However recently, there has been news of a wave that does not travel uniformly, never seen before. This wave forms includes star shaped waves and even polygons shaped waves.

To understand how important this new discovery is one must first understand the work of a wave. Basically a wave is a flow that travels through a medium, a transportation method for example: air, water, etc. It transports energy like we have already studied in class, kinetic energy, with the exception of not transporting matter. The particles of the medium which are used to travel are moved from their original position, but then returns through equilibrium. 

Ordinarily the waves studied have been one’s who’s way of movement are linear or not uniformly linear, but this special case is rare to both cases. In the University of Nice Sophia in Nice, France Jean Rajchenbach and other colleagues were the discoverers of this new phenomenon. This new wave was made in an experiment by shaking with vibration causing frequencies that would jiggle a dish of silicone oil with a slow, but regular motion. This combination of movements would produce star-shaped waves with five or six sides. These are unusual patterns that are thought to spread out in non-linear motion between three or more separate waves. The mathematics theory behind this wave still not understood to the fullest extent. The star shaped wave appears in trays or disks of different sizes and shapes. Knowing this the wave shape is not affected by the container in which it is held, which is also a property of a wave’s shape.

Jean Rajchenbach and the team of his colleagues are developing completely new models describing this wave. According to Jean Rajchenbach the waves could be used as a relation with quasicrystals, which is an arrangement of atoms forming a structure with five fold symmetry. Further calculations suggest that the shapes of nonlinear forces are similar to that between gravity waves. Researchers hope for success in the experiment to lead to better perceptive on other nonlinear gravity waves like tsunamis. Some physicists assume that nonlinear effects could be responsible for rogue waves that are formed in the oceans. A great deal of work would go into another research for similarity between the star shaped wave with the rogue ocean waves, but thinking of the possibilities it would unimaginably effective for the entire world. Knowing the time or place a tsunami could occur due to the nonlinear similarity with the star shaped wave could save lots of lives as well. That is why expanding the knowledge from every new discovery is an important aspect of life and physics since knowing the basics is an essential part of physics.

The Higgs Boson particle; close to discovery?

Laura E Rivera Rodriguez

“Finding the Higgs particle should be a matter of time” says many scientific and physicists. The Higgs particle, named after Peter Higgs, one of the originators of the elementary ideas; is the quantum of a new field called the Higgs field, which was zero in the very early Universe, but turned on as the expanding Universe cooled. According to the standard model of particle, the Higgs particle is one of the most fundamental building blocks of nature, and some says is the most important one because it can determine what the real World looks like. Physicists like Gordon Kane and Edward Witten says that the Higgs particle or the “God particle” as some people refer to; is the missing piece of the particle physics puzzle and it could tell us a great deal about the Universe we live in. They in fact are convinced that the Higgs particle is just waiting to be discovered.

The Standard Model is the theory that physicists use to describe the behavior of fundamental particles and the forces that act between them. It describes the ordinary matter from which we, and everything visible in the universe, are made extremely well. Nevertheless, the Standard Model does not describe approximately the 96% of the universe that is invisible. One of the main goals of the LHC research program is to go beyond the Standard Model, and the Higgs boson could be the key.

More detailed and complex alternatives to the standard model have been suggested, in which the Higgs particle is made by combining other substances or entities that are even more elementary. The truth is that the standard model picture of the Higgs particle may be correct or may be not; and we won’t know until experiments reveal the truth beneath the Higgs particle. But many particle physicists are certain that the standard model picture of the Higgs particle is correct and they have three main reasons to believe so. First, almost all of the aspects of the standard model (apart from the Higgs particle) have been confirmed by experiments. Second, the standard model Higgs approach works for all the particles while other approaches commonly fail for some. And third, unlike its rivals, the standard model has offered effective starting point for string theories, and unified field theories.

Also one reason for assurance and certainty in the standard model is its correct prediction of the existence and mass and other properties of some previously unknown particles: the W and Z particles, the top quark, and the neutrino. Also, diverse standard model predictions for details of elementary particle reactions have been proved and tested successfully.

So far the evidence obtained through experiments only suggests that the Higgs boson is a very massive particle, heavier than all known elementary particles (except possibly the top quark particle). In the closing stage of the LEP program, a hint was found of a discovery of the Higgs particle with a mass of very nearly 115 GeV. Sadly, LEP did not have the energy and intensity to establish this conclusively or rule it out since to create such a heavy particle in the laboratory, physicists must concentrate a lot of energy. The motivation for proving the existence of Higgs particles is stronger than ever, and there is very good indirect evidence, and a hint of direct evidence, that they do in fact exist.

All these theories are appealing but unproven. The hope is that, along with discovering the Higgs particle, experimental physicists will in the coming years begin exploring this unknown level. Finding and studying the Higgs particle and exploring the standard model at yet higher energies makes an exciting mission and the properties of the Higgs particle will point to new developments and projects.

The main conclusion is that the standard model Higgs boson, if it exists, is most likely to have a mass constrained to the range 116–130 GeV by one experiment, and 115–127 GeV by another experiment. Appealing hints have been seen by both experiments in this mass region, but these are not yet strong enough to confirm a discovery. Higgs bosons, if they exist, are very short lived and can decay in many different ways.

References and Notes:

UPRM databases 

The importance of Higgs boson. 

The search for the Higgs boson. 

Has the Higgs boson been seen in the Crystal Ball?