Quizzes & Puzzles37 mins ago
The Higgs Field
According to something I read by Brian Cox, the Higgs field condensed
( whatever that means ) out of the vacuum in the early universe, filling the void with Higgs particles.
These particles interact with certain fundamental particles giving them mass.This is known as the Higgs field.
Given the massive expansion of space-time since then, the Higgs field could have been affected by this in some way such as being " thinner" similar to the wavelength stretching of the background radiation.
Therefore could the Higgs field be weaker now than in the past?
Could mass be declining?
( whatever that means ) out of the vacuum in the early universe, filling the void with Higgs particles.
These particles interact with certain fundamental particles giving them mass.This is known as the Higgs field.
Given the massive expansion of space-time since then, the Higgs field could have been affected by this in some way such as being " thinner" similar to the wavelength stretching of the background radiation.
Therefore could the Higgs field be weaker now than in the past?
Could mass be declining?
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by colinha. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.As far as I understand it the Higgs field would have been at a higher energy level in the early universe at unimaginably high temperatures but will now have settled to its lowest possible energy level without actually being zero, so presumably any further decrease in mass given to elementary particles (if that is in fact what happens) is virtually impossible.
The Higgs particles which give elementary particles mass are not similar to these particles, in that they are a separate entity; they exist within these elementary particles, as oppose to support them. This means that the "spreading out", or expansion, of space time will not affect the concentration of the Higgs particles, as elementary particles are not duplicated. Objects with matter are expanding into further parts of the universe, not declining.