How do Higgs bosons give particles mass?

The Higgs mechanism explains how certain elementary particles acquire rest mass through their interaction with a pervasive quantum field known as the Higgs field. Peter Higgs at the University of Edinburgh and independently François Englert and Robert Brout at the Université Libre de Bruxelles proposed in 1964 that if a field fills all space and settles into a nonzero vacuum value, the symmetry that governs the electroweak force can be spontaneously broken. The broken symmetry changes how other particles propagate, allowing some gauge bosons and fermions to behave as if they possess mass.

How the Higgs field gives mass
A field in quantum field theory assigns a value to every point in space. The Higgs field differs because its lowest-energy state is not zero. When the electroweak symmetry is intact, the mathematical structure forbids mass terms for the W and Z bosons and for fermions without breaking gauge invariance. Once the Higgs field takes on a nonzero vacuum expectation value, the symmetry is hidden and the equations reorganize: the W and Z bosons mix with the field’s degrees of freedom and acquire mass terms. Fermions obtain masses through direct couplings to the Higgs field, known as Yukawa couplings, with the coupling strength determining the particle’s mass. The observable Higgs boson is a localized quantum excitation of that omnipresent field.

Experimental confirmation and consequences
The ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN reported in 2012 the observation of a new boson consistent with the Higgs particle, confirming the central idea that a field causes electroweak gauge bosons and some fermions to have mass. This discovery validated a core element of the Standard Model of particle physics, explaining why the W and Z bosons are heavy while the photon remains massless. It also established the mechanism by which elementary fermions such as the top quark and electron acquire rest mass, although the precise values of these masses are determined by the strengths of their Yukawa couplings rather than the Higgs value alone.

Broader significance and human dimensions
Beyond the technical explanation, the Higgs mechanism has social and cultural consequences. The multinational effort at CERN, located on the Franco Swiss border, illustrates how large-scale science fosters international collaboration and workforce training across territories and cultures. The search for and study of the Higgs boson drove advances in detector technology, superconducting magnets, and grid computing systems that have broader applications in medicine and industry. Environmental and economic considerations accompany such large infrastructures because high-energy accelerators require substantial energy and long-term investment, prompting discussions about scientific priorities and sustainability.

Open questions remain about the origin of neutrino masses, the pattern of Yukawa couplings, and whether additional fields or symmetries influence mass generation. Understanding these issues continues to shape theoretical work and experimental programs worldwide, linking a foundational physical mechanism to ongoing scientific, technological, and societal developments.