2012

Of Mass and Matter

by Prof. Steve Nahn (MIT)

Pacific/Honolulu
112 (Watanabe Hall)

112

Watanabe Hall

UHM Campus
Description
The first stage of the LHC era is coming to a close, and it certainly did not disappoint, with the Independence Day announcement of a new boson which looks a lot like the missing puzzle piece that furthers our understanding of how the known fundamental particles get their mass. After a brief reminder about how this all fits together, I'll update the status of this new particle with the latest results. However, another puzzling question is where is all the mass? Apparently, only about 20% takes the form of known matter particles, and the rest is the mysterious Dark Matter. At the LHC, insight into the nature of Dark Matter has so far gone unfulfilled - no other new particles have been detected. An alternative approach, using particle physics techniques to explore the natural abundance of Dark Matter in the cosmos, may be the key to resolving the Dark Matter conundrum.