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An artist's conception visualizes the big bang at the universe's beginning — or could it be the end?
BOSTON — If the "Higgs-like particle" discovered last year is really the long-sought Higgs boson, the bad news is that its mass suggests the universe will end in a fast-spreading bubble of doom. The good news? It'll probably be tens of billions of years before that particular doomsday arrives.
That's one of the weirder twists coming out of the continuing analysis of results from Europe's Large Hadron Collider, which produced the first solid evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson last year. Current theory holds that the Higgs boson plays a role in imparting mass to other fundamental particles. Confirming the discovery of the Higgs would fill in the last blank spot in that theory, known as the Standard Model.
Physicists discussed the state of the Higgs quest in Boston on Monday during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
So far, the particle that was found at the LHC fits all the requirements for the Higgs boson, but scientists aren't quite ready to confirm that the particle is really, truly the Higgs boson. It could be, say, just the first of multiple particles involved in the process. "The door is still very much open that there's [another] particle that has a role to play, or even more than that," said Christopher Hill, a physicist at Ohio State University who is also deputy physics coordinator for the LHC's Compact Muon Solenoid experiment.
The LHC has just started a two-year shutdown for equipment upgrades — and Howard Gordon, deputy chair of the physics program at Brookhaven National Laboratory, said "it's going to take another few years" after the collider is restarted to confirm definitively that the newfound particle is the Higgs boson.
In the meantime, physicists have tightened their estimates of the particle's mass: Hill said the current estimate from the Compact Muon Solenoid is 125.8 billion electron volts, or 125.8 GeV, plus or minus 0.6 GeV. The figure from the LHC's other Higgs-boson detector, known as ATLAS, is 125.2 GeV, plus or minus 0.7 GeV.
Those figures can be factored into equations that point to the long-term fate of the universe, said Joseph Lykken, a theoretical physicist at Fermilab.
So what's the outlook?
"If you use all the physics that we know now, and we do what we think is a straightforward calculation, it's bad news," Lykken said. "It may be that the universe we live in is inherently unstable. At some point, billions of years from now, it's all going to be wiped out."
He said the parameters for our universe, including the Higgs mass value as well as the mass of another subatomic particle known as the top quark, suggest that we're just at the edge of stability, in a "metastable" state. Physicists have been contemplating such a possibility for more than 30 years. Back in 1982, physicists Michael Turner and Frank Wilczek wrote in Nature that "without warning, a bubble of true vacuum could nucleate somewhere in the universe and move outwards at the speed of light, and before we realized what swept by us our protons would decay away."
Lykken put it slightly differently: "The universe wants to be in a different state, so eventually to realize that, a little bubble of what you might think of as an alternate universe will appear somewhere, and it will spread out and destroy us."
That alternate universe would be "much more boring," Lykken said. Which led him to ask a philosophical question: "Why do we live in a universe that's just on the edge of stability?" He wondered whether a universe has to be near the danger zone to produce galaxies, stars, planets ... and life.
Even Hill found it interesting that the parameters of particle physics put our universe right along the critical line. "That's something new, which we didn't know before, and which leads some of us to that there's something else coming," Hill said.
When Hill referred to "something else," he was talking about new discoveries in physics — not the end of the world. Lykken emphasized that it would be at least tens of billions of years before vacuum instability took hold.
"To get the exact number, we need more funding," he joked.
More about the fate of the universe:
- A bleak and lonely outlook for the universe
- Will time end in 3.7 billion years? Maybe, or maybe not
- Flash interactive: Beyond the big bang
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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Cool!
I remember reading something about this right after they announced the data - there were the stable zones, and the unstable zone, and the error bars from the experiment fell smack across the border. Nobody ever quite explained what that meant, though, so it's nice to get a summary now.
So we end in a "Big Slurp" How utterly cool. At least we can now say for certain that there will be no "rapture".
To yeahbuhwha? - I, too, am fascinated by this stuff but often find a great deal of the technical aspects difficult to understand. After stumbling across a few lectures on the subject on YouTube by Lawrence M. Krauss, I bought his book "A Universe From Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing." While a basic knowledge of physics is helpful. I find that Krauss writes with the kind of clarity that most people can understand, not unlike Stephen Hawking. It's a fairly quick read, at 185 pages, and includes charts and illustrations to help comprehend the topics, as well as a sense of humor which makes it all the more enjoyable. I should perhaps warn you and other readers that the book is, by its nature, atheistic but, with the exception of an afterword by Richard Dawkins, does not proselytize.
This is awesome. I wonder what it would be like to suddenly be swallowed up by a simpler universe. I guess it goes without saying that we'd die instantly, but this whole idea is very provocative.
I think one of my protons just decayed while I was thinking about this.
So, e.e.cummings was right!
This is awesome stuff. Keep it up my fellow humans; science is the key!
So the world will end not with a bang, not with a whimper.. but with a slurp.
So, I wonder if they are taking dark matter into consideration? Seeing as how we don't even know what dark matter is, that should certainly/potentially affect the equation determining stability.
I would think that the Higgs gives dark matter it's mass as well and I also think that dark matter would not in any effect the spontaneous formation of a true vacuum.
It is hard to say though, since I understand the concept they put forth, but I am no good at the math that describes it. I still don't think dark matter will have an effect on a spontaneous vacuum though. If your talking about a big crunch or a big rip, then dark matter would effect that.
They don't have a clue either! Word to the wise, though...don't ever let anyone talk you into using wormholes to torment and rape people. You have to let go and let GOD, otherwise Satan is tapping your ass until the end of time, and I've seen what that looks like and let me tell you, that serial killer who hanged himself a few months ago is NOT getting a single night's rest, ever.
If you're homosexual, does Satan force you to have sex with the opposite sex?
Spockensiedouche lives in the world of the supernatural. Poor deluded fool.
Cheer up Douche Meister!
Other scientists claim that there's a 50-50 chance that time will end in the next 3.6 billion years, so it's not as bad as you make it sound!
This thing spends more time in maintenance than on the road. Where do they buy the parts, from China? :D
The maintenance has been planned since the LHC's conception so this was totally expected.
The energy of the beam, which is an ultrahigh vacuum in a 27 km circumference circle is equivalent to 80 kg of TNT. When it runs, it is only for a very short time. It needs a lot of maintenance, and also, when they have these shutdowns it's also for upgrades. This is not a Toyota!
Hello, the sun will burn humans to a crisp way before the universe disappears
Don't you care about the future generations of Big Bang inhabitants? That's pretty cold.
What about all the other Humans that are not around the Sun when the red giant phase kicks in? I think that in 3 Billion years we will have made it to other stars in the area.
If we are around for even 1 billion more years, we are progressing at a rate fast enough to expect that if artificial formation of a new universe is possible, we might not only have found out how but we may also be able to create new universes at will with the same properties as this universe. OFC, we would I guess also have to perfect how to enter that new universe.
I really wish they would every time anyone does that whole 'speculative science' shtick here. Nothing you people say actually makes any sense, and your brain is in your head, not your ass.
Much of science is speculation and speculation is not fact so it dose not have to make sense until it is proven correct. If it sounds like a mess to you then it most likely is a mess to you and not something you would ever really care to think about. If it dose not sound like a total mess to you and it is proven wrong one day, well, at least it provided a good mental exorcize.
As for my butt being in my head.. Well, Yeah, I guess it is but I really can not be bothered to care about my brain's position in my body.. It works and I will worry about where it is when I seem to have a reason to worry about it.
Get sucked up by a new universe that's a boring vacuum. Great. So, how much time do we have now? Our oceans are pickling oysters and corals. Do we have time to clean up?
jrtaylor001-7752819 HELLO... if you believe in Evolution humans will not be around by then, and IF we have decedents from us near that time they will have left this solar system.
Sounds like a "big bang" to me.
We know that our solar system is unstable (geologically speaking) from Chaos theory. So, why not the universe?
It's particle instability not geologic instability.
chaos theory covers micro as well as macro scales. The information provided here is fantastic; however the one part that is questionable is the proton decay, this has yet to be observed scientifically.
Common... Florida isn't that bad
So Jesus appearing on a cloud with lots of lighting and fog effects and choirs of angels singing is right out, then?
Actually, the idiots who keep telling everybody that Jesus is coming back are misogynistic fools who can't interpret Biblical scripture. I, Mary (Woman, Clothed w/Sun) am actually the only "Christ" you retards are ever gonna get, and let me tell you just how ridiculous you atheists (might as well be those Nihilists from The Big Lebowski) sound on this site, then there are these idiots who can't pull their heads out of their asses long enough to wipe themselves from front to back who feel like saying anything that has the words "Higgs Boson" "God" or "We are doing something other than making a bomb we might blow ourselves up with if nothing else" so I will get really annoyed and post some rambling, useless verbiage urging young college know- it -alls to see these pigs and monsters for what they really are, oh...then there's the whole completely stupid dinosaurs fantasy but you can read a better article in Smithsonian to see what I mean by that. In summation, 7 billion dollars WASTED. On these @!$%#s. They can't figure out where the bathroom is now. These are the things that make me wonder why I try.
Spockensiedouche Why do you try? What are you even trying to do? Actually don't answer that. I just lost interest...
We humans will destroy the Earth long before that happens.
God creates man, man destroys God, man discovers Higg's Boson particle to replace God, Higg's Boson slurps the whole mess up!
we know so little, yet call ourselves experts.
Some of us prefer the term 'supremely masterful mega-geniuses,' but experts will do.
Experts in what we know but discovery of what we don't know is an amazing trip in-and-of itself.
Nope. Idiots.
So the Universe might end in something that sounds a lot like what you would buy at 7-11 eh? Im down with having my protons destroyed by a true vacuum. Truth be told though, I have a feeling that the end for this universe wont be a big slurp. We shall have to wait and see the science that comes out of this, but I think the universe will be shown to be self stabilizing over a large amount of time. So, you might have a situation where the possibility of a true vacuum forming in the universe being highest at it's creation and lessening with age.
Thankfully, this future postulated decay of our Universe is dependent upon the Eternal Inflation theory, which in turn is dependent upon the Flat Universe theory, and the Flat Universe theory is inevitably destined one day to end up (on the trash heap of history) where the Flat Earth theory already did. - Rick Carter
Flatulence Theory always makes hella sense after a few beers.
Spockensiedouche, You are the smartest person on this thread. Your username leaves something to be desired... But smart you are
Ndkota, I don't think I've ever seen a troll butt kisser before. Thanks.
That's a shame that they are doing upgrades now after making such an important discovery. We need a second Large Collider (LHC2)? for testing and continuing ongoing work while The large Hadrian Collider (LHC1)? is "In the shop"
A 2 year shutdown is a long time, especially given the recent turn of events.
Before the big bubble slurps us, our sun will have burned all it's fuel, and ether way, it will be the end, or a new big bang, and it will all start over again.
Why are you so attached to our sun? I mean yeah, it's nice, and it's the only one we have right now, but...
"Big Slurp" Is it necessary for NBC to make every headline sound mentally retarded? I know the content of NBC news stories is generally bordering on the 70 IQ scale but the cosmic log has been a notable exception. Step it up.
I would like to know, where in Europe, is all that power generated to run the Hadron Collider? And they are going to increase the operating power it even more. You can only get so much out of stepping up transformers.
NBC, doesn't make up these stories, they only report what is released from the scientific community.
Maybe, but it could also mean that the universe is cyclic in nature and will regurgitate upon collapsing on itself, space-time reverses to a point, and boom, another Big Bang.
If energy is a conserved parameter then once the "mass" dissipates space-time will reduce accordingly until all the energy converges back to a singularity. It will converge because no-mass no gravity and visa versa. Because free energy is chaotic the instability will create the next Big Bang.
Instability, the inherent nature of constant motion, will not permit the universe to come to a stable uniform temperature, maximum entropy.
I believe we have passed the half way point, assuming it is linear, because of the expansion of space-time. This means the antiparticles are now winning in annihilating the present massed particles. But as the equations show the whole thing will come crushing into a singularity at the speed of light and "explode" again. The explosion, again, is because the energy is always changing (states) and the energy pressure will be so intense that it will release again in a rapid expansion creating yet another "visible" universe. The difference between this one and the next will be the rate entropy at time = 0. It will not be necessarily the same as our universe stated, again chaos has no boundaries except for one parameter, total energy content.
"A bubble of true vacuum could travel OUTWARD at the speed of light, then BOOM. ?"..........Outward?....Does space have limits and boundaries ?...What could possibly lie beyond ?..........holy somoly, beam me up Scottie
"Outward", relative to where it will start and the rest of universe. However, once the vacuum "bubble", the low energy pressure, is big enough to start eating up galaxies, the universe will start collapsing towards the true vacuum. It will collapse because there is no force to keep it out, mass will be annihilated in this scenario, and hence all the energy, a conserved quantity, will collapse to a point, singularity.
Then boom, another Big Bang and another universe. The next universe should look much like ours but the speed of light, c, could be slightly different. The constant c is created at the beginning at random, as is entropy.
Mr. @b0yle, sir,can you clarify those equations in terms of Einstein's Law of Special Relativity so I can understand what the heck you're talking about in plain English?
Rocket science I can understand, but I only ever got a C in Particle Physics....
Anything to get rid of the GOP!
Now I understand what the bible is talking about a "new Heaven and new Earth"
Now I see why there is a need for a "Rapture"
But only if you could see that you're delusional. gods are imaginary.
Greg,
Imagination is how we figure things out sometimes? Sometime we have to go on a "Little Faith"
Science is the ability to imagine and to seek out the truth!
Science doesn't have anthing to do with the supernatural.
But the supernatural has everything to do with science
Again you don't have a clue. Science only deals with the natural universe. DF.
There is something just beyond what we can see at the edge of the universe that is sucking things in, we don't know what it is though.
The unknown, just beyond what we can see, beyond physics, a world of sight and sound
"DA Twilight Zone"
"DA Outer-Limits"
The meteors are being pushed by the Higgs!