| > verified the existence of the Higgs As a related tangent: we have verified the existence of the Higgs, but only partially. What was so far measured was the interaction strength between Higgs and W bosons, Z bosons, and the top quarks: these are the main channels of Higgs production at the LHC, and they fit the theory prediction within 20%. Yes, 20%. Not precise at all. What about interaction between Higgs and the other 5 kinds of quarks? Electrons? Muons? Tau? Itself? The data ranges from +-100% to none at all. In particular the measurement of Higgs-Higgs interaction is an important one: the assumption Standard Model makes about the strength of this interaction is not unique, and others are possible. We don't know yet: not enough data. Moreover models with multiple Higgs particles are possible. Again, we don't know yet, not enough data. This is why some cautious researchers claim that we have discovered "a scalar particle", "believed to be Higgs", but further measurement is needed to determine all of its properties. This is one of the main activities at LHC and among the theoreticians at the moment: measuring Higgs interactions with other particles. There is still way to improve precision with more data from LHC, but ultimately there is only so much it can do without increasing the energy. |