God particle” redirects here. For the book, see The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?.

Higgs boson
 

A simulated event, featuring the appearance of the Higgs boson
Composition

Elementary particle
Statistics

Bosonic
Status

Hypothetical
Theorized

F. Englert, R. Brout, P. Higgs, G. S. Guralnik, C. R. Hagen, and T. W. B. Kibble (1964)
Discovered

Not yet (as of December 2011); searches ongoing at the LHC
Types

1, according to the Standard Model;
5 or more, according to supersymmetric models
Mass

likely 115–130 GeV/c2[1]
Spin

0
The Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive elementary particle that is predicted to exist by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. The Higgs boson is an integral part of the theoretical Higgs mechanism. If shown to exist, it would help explain why other particles can have mass.[Note 1] It is the only elementary particle predicted by the Standard Model that has not yet been observed in particle physics experiments.[2] Theories that do not need the Higgs boson also exist and would be considered if the existence of the Higgs boson were ruled out. They are described as Higgsless models.