Quantum physics is very interesting physics, to say the least. There are a lot of unique nuances in quantum that have to be accounted for in many instances. The Standard Model of Particles is considered by many physicists to be one of the greatest accomplishments of modern physics. I can agree with this, but not for the reasons held by most physicists, and this is a topic for other papers. A close look at the Standard Model and the quantum physics that has gone into establishing it reveals that there are a number of “guesses” that have been made in order to “make it work.” One of the most interesting of these guesses is what I would like to write about today.
Probably one of the most unique nuances in quantum physics is known as “duality.” This is where particles have a “dual” nature in that they act like both waves and particles. The wave nature of quantum physics and particles is where a significant problem lies. There are multiple ways in which particles are allowed to have a wave property. However, quantum physics being what it is, particles cannot have a certain type of wave. Specifically, particles in their wave form are not allowed to have a longitudinal wave in quantum physics.
Since quantum physics does not allow for a longitudinal wave, but particle physics does scientists had to come up with something to address the issue of a longitudinal wave for a particle wave. In other words, there has to be something associated with quantum mechanics that prohibits a longitudinal wave. The best thing that scientists could come up with, the quantum aspects of a particle wave are such that there is a property associated with the quantum wave that does not allow for a longitudinal wave. Said another way, quantum physics being what it is, it has its own special and unique property that does not allow longitudinal particle waves. Nobody has any idea what this property actually is or how it got there, it is just “there.” This special action regarding cancelling the longitudinal wave of the wave-particle duality of quantum physics is known as “spontaneous symmetry breaking” and it makes everything right in quantum physics for a particle wave.
Now the wave nature of quantum physics being what it is, when a particle is acting under its wave form of wave-particle duality, the particle does not have any mass. Now this can be a problem. As any particle is moving through space as a wave without mass, how can this particle possibly become part of a planet, any part of a galaxy, or even a part of us? It can’t. In other words, the wave nature of a particle prevents it from having mass, which in turn prevents this particle wave from becoming any part of matter. If this were allowed to hold turn it would mean no universe as we know it because there would be no mass to form anything. So now physicist had to come up with something that can make a particle a real particle with mass from its massless wave form.
Enter the Higgs Boson and its accompanying Higgs Field, specifically the non-zero Higgs Field. Another little caveat associated with this massless to mass transformation.
Before I can go any further, I need to give a down and dirty description of a field. Basically a field is just like what you are use too seeing in everyday life. A big open space of grass, wheat, corn or anything else stretching out in front of you for as far as you can see. Only in quantum physics you do not have plants, you have some type of energy. Every particle and a few other things have their own distinct and specific associated energy fields stretching throughout all of space. You cannot see, touch or interact with these energy fields but they are out there, everywhere. It turns out that it is very convenient to have these fields everywhere in the universe.
All of the different energy fields out there have a unique purpose; whenever necessary they kick out a virtual particle. Now a virtual particle is exactly like a real particle except for the fact that it does not exist in our universe, rather it exists in the field and pops into our universe when necessary to complete an interaction of some type. After the interaction is over, the virtual particle goes back into the field. And all of the interactions associated with any virtual particle, there are virtual particles for all fields, are done in a time span that is so quick it cannot be seen or recorded. This too is very convenient.
Getting back to giving the wave form of our particle some mass, this is where the Higgs Boson and the Higgs field come in. When a particle that is in its wave form needs to have mass for an interaction, a Higgs Boson pops out of the Higgs field, it interacts with the particle wave and gives the particle mass while also slowing down its motion. This former particle wave now it is ready to become part of our universe. Everything is smooth and straight forward, except that for the most part this is all theory. The Higgs Boson has been discovered in high energy particle acceleration collisions, but other than this everything else is a theory. And, it is a theory based on the initial presumption that the spontaneous symmetry breaking discussed above is real. Quantum physics being what it is, spontaneous symmetry breaking is simply accepted as being real because it can never be observed in any form. Put in simplest terms, “spontaneous symmetry breaking” was pulled out of nowhere in order to get rid of the longitudinal wave so that quantum wave particles can exist.
To be fair, the above explanation is a simplification of what happens. However, it is a valid description of what is occurring with “spontaneous symmetry breaking” and then the follow up interaction with the Higgs Boson. In other words, physicists had to make “spontaneous symmetry breaking” in order for a particle to have a quantum wave form. And then there has to be the Higgs Boson to interact with a particle wave and break the spontaneous symmetry order to give the particle mass. This is the way that it is, it had to be made so it could be broken.
