The Higgs boson is a fascinating elementary particle, and its discovery twelve years ago cemented the standard model (SM) of particle physics as the most accurate description of nature at and below the electroweak energy scale. However, many p…

  At the LHC, lead ions are smashed together at extremely high speeds to create a unique state of matter called the quark gluon plasma. Normally, quarks and gluons, such as those that make up lead ions, are confined within protons and neutrons.…

  In the world of elementary particles, there are twelve generic types of fermions (spin ½ particles): 3 up-type quarks, 3 down-type quarks, 3 charged leptons, and 3 neutrinos. They come in three generations. The number “3” is really a magic num…