Famous for its discovery at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012, the Higgs boson strengthened the validity of the Standard Model and confirmed the existence of all known fundamental particles. However, despite successful experimental confirmation of the existence of these particles and their properties coinciding with theoretical predictions, minor inconsistencies remain. This requires further experimentation, especially with the relatively “young” Higgs boson.

Why could it revolutionize our understanding of the universe?

Within the Standard Model, the Higgs boson can decay through various channels, and decay into a Z-boson and a photon is an incredibly rare event, occurring with only 0.15% probability. So far, scientists have not observed this degradation in VAK data, emphasizing its rarity. However, thanks to the joint efforts of the ATLAS and CMS teams, as well as the use of machine learning techniques to scan large volumes of data, the researchers were able to uncover this elusive phenomenon.

The ATLAS and CMS teams analyzed combined data from HAC for the period from 2013 to 2018. In the ATLAS data, the statistical accuracy of the decay channel detection reached 2.2σ (sigma – standard deviation) and in the CMS data – 2.6σ. In combination, the statistical significance of the event was 3.4σ. While this falls below the 5σ threshold required for a formal discovery claim, it provides strong evidence for the event.

Now scientists have confirmed that the Higgs boson can indeed decay into a Z-boson and a photon. Further observations of this decay channel will either confirm the physics described in the Standard Model or cast doubt on its completeness.

The upgraded HAC, which has recently reached a maximum collision energy of 13.6 TeV, will facilitate further exploration of the Higgs boson. In the coming years, collecting data on the Z-boson and photon decay of the Higgs boson will help provide the ultimate answer to a fundamental question: Do we really understand the intricacies of the world we live in?