Early Universe particles and forces exist as massless fermions and distinct bosons before symmetry breaking
Updated
Updated · Big Think · Apr 27
Early Universe particles and forces exist as massless fermions and distinct bosons before symmetry breaking
7 articles · Updated · Big Think · Apr 27
During the first 100 picoseconds after the Big Bang, all fermions and bosons were massless, and the familiar W, Z, photon, and Higgs bosons did not yet exist.
Instead, four massless bosons—W1, W2, W3, and B—mediated electroweak nuclear and hypercharge forces, with the Higgs field present but unbroken.
Electroweak symmetry breaking later transformed these particles and forces, giving rise to the Standard Model’s structure and the emergence of particle masses.
With the W boson puzzle now resolved, what is the next big crack in the Standard Model?
Could a more violent version of this event explain why matter exists at all?
Beyond giving mass, what other cosmic secrets might the Higgs boson be hiding?
How have recent LHC discoveries changed our search for physics beyond the Standard Model?
If the Higgs field gives particles mass, could a 'dark Higgs' explain dark matter?
What will future 'Higgs factories' reveal that the Large Hadron Collider cannot?