Graphene Could Help Physicists Probe the Higgs Boson's Secrets

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 02.07.2011 at 4:29 pm 5 Comments

Graphene Sheet Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

One of the most promising materials in science could answer some questions about one of the most elusive particles in the universe, according to a new paper. A trio of Spanish physicists believes that graphene, that simple, special Nobel-winning stuff, could provide some key insights into the behavior of the Higgs boson.

When you compress graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon, it ripples. This is related to the graphene’s energy potentials. Spontaneous symmetry breaking — fluctuations that dictate what happens next — cause the ripple effect.

Pablo San-Jose, Francisco Guinea, and Jose Gonzalez at Madrid's Institute for Material Science say this is analagous to the symmetry breaking that happened in a blink after the Big Bang.

In the universe’s earliest birth pangs, all four fundamental forces were one, and all was symmetrical with the world. But this hot, dense state was unstable, and as soon as things cooled off, the four forces broke apart into gravity, electromagnetism and the weak and strong nuclear forces.

As Discovery News puts it, this phenomenon is more properly described as the Higgs field (which is associated with the Higgs boson) shifting from a high-energy state to a grounded state. Physics World describes the so-called sombrero effect, or “Mexican hat potentials,” in more detail here.

Basically, when graphene responds to being stretched or compressed, the result is similar to what happens when the Higgs field condenses, breaking the symmetry of the universe.

San-Jose says studying the ripple effect of graphene could give hints about the Higgs field and the Higgs boson, which gets its mass from vibrations in the Higgs field. In addition to rippling under pressure, physicists also know that small, spontaneous ripples form in graphene in temperature fluctuations and even without compression.

Now, this does not mean the humble graphene crystal will beat the Large Hadron Collider to a Higgs boson discovery — but it could help physicists work out some of the weird math associated with quantum field theory. That is, if it’s even correct. Discovery News talked to one physicist who said the graphene model might not be an accurate representation of how the Higgs field actually works. Still, it’s pretty cool — the strongest, thinnest material ever discovered, arguably one of the most important materials in all of science, might help us understand the mechanisms behind the formation of the universe.

[Discovery News]

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5 Comments

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IceMetalPunk

02/07/11 at 4:45 pm

I'm severely disappointed. The headline suggested something much more concrete, not just "graphene is kind of like the Higgs field, even though it's really not".

I'm let down...

-IMP ;) :)

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Foomypoo

02/07/11 at 7:13 pm

Even a SINGLE line about what a Higgs field or Higgs Boson is would be SO EFFING NICE! I mean I know I can click the link and read all about it, but if you put a brief description in HERE I wouldnt have to go read a whole other article just to understand this one...good job.

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chieffranky

02/07/11 at 11:23 pm

I think you're missing the important thing here, fellow commentors! Such as the racial implications of the "Mexican hat potentials." Or possibly our universes sexy "hot, dense state" wasn't enough to grab your attention?

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cadillac

02/08/11 at 7:02 am

@ the guy above chief franky (i refuse to type that idiotic handle)

Ok shoot the writer for not explaining the Higgs, then shoot chief franky for trying to be funny and failing hard, then shoot yourself for being a lazy moron.

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