Big BangScience

What next?

Into the Future

The work on an experiment does not, of course, stop with building the apparatus. Now that LEP is operational the research teamsare involved in what is for many the most exciting stage of theresearch - the analysis of the data collected. Soon, they may findanswers to fundamental questions that have tantalised particlephysicists for a decade or more. How many types of neutrino arethere? Does the top quark really exist and what is its mass? Andwhat of the mysterious Higgs boson?

This particle is named after Peter Higgs of EdinburghUniversity one of those who conceived its existence. Discovery ofone or more Higgs particles would give valuable insight into whysome particles, such as most quarks and leptons, have mass,while others, such as the photon, do not.

As more and more data are analysed over the coming yearsthey will provide a precision test of many aspects of the standardmodel of subatomic particles. This could prove an exciting stage,revealing new effects. Through subtle deviations from thestandard model LEP may provide a window on to new processesonly at much higher energies.

Whatever the outcome, this unique glimpse of the earlyUniverse will have taken us substantially further on our journey todiscover the origins of matter.

A supernova remnant, the debris of a starthat exploded 12,000 years ago, a tiny corner of a vast expanding Universe thatall started with a big bang. How did primordial matter develop into the greatdiversity of the universe today? Perhaps the Large Electron Positron colliderat CERN can help scientists find the answer.

Evidence for the topquark

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