CERN downplays claim of god particle rumours

The world’s biggest particle physics lab played down claims of a major discovery, after a leaked memo hinting that the elusive Higgs boson – or ‘God particle’ – may have been found ricocheted around science web sites. A spokesman for CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, said the memo wasn’t intended for publication and the claims likely wouldn’t withstand closer scrutiny. If proven to exist, the Higgs particle could explain why matter has mass, an enormous scientific breakthrough.

“The note is certainly genuine,” spokesman James Gillies. But he said such memos are merely the very first step in a rigorous peer-review process that tends to result in spectacular claims being knocked down by other scientists. Scientists observe particle collisions at the Alice experiment control room at the CERN, Geneva
“I think the excitement is due mainly to the incredible sense of anticipation there is in particle physics at the moment,” said Gillies. Thousands of researchers around the world are poring over data generated at CERN’s $10-billion Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, and many expect it to produce significant discoveries about the makeup of matter and other mysteries of the universe in the years to come.

Previously, much of the initial debate would have taken place behind closed doors. But the buzz surrounding the Large Hadron Collider and the development of social media networks means even early-stage science is leaking out and quickly spreading worldwide. The note was posted anonymously, but carried the names of four researchers working at CERN’s Atlas experiment. Atlas is one of four giant detectors built to record high-energy proton collisions inside the collider’s 27-kilometre tunnel beneath the Swiss-French border.

The memo claims that abnormal measurements seen at a particular energy level are “the first definitive observation of physics beyond the standard model.