cern LHC
Candidate Higgs boson event from collisions between protons in the CMS detector on the LHC. CMS/Cern

Scientists have discovered the combined mass of the Higgs boson 'God' particle by combining experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.

Cern said the combined results from the Atlas and CMS experiments were presented together for the first time, finding the mass the Higgs boson is mH = 125.09 ± 0.24 (0.21 stat. ± 0.11 syst.) GeV- the most precise measurement of the Higgs boson mass yet.

Up until now, increasingly precise measurements from the two experiments have established all observed properties of Higgs are consistent with the Standard Model Higgs Boson.

The Standard Model of particle physics describes all known elementary particles and their interactions.

As Cern scientists prepare to fire up the LHC, they are now planning to run the results with higher energy and more collisions, to increase the precision of the Higgs mass and explore the particle's properties in more detail.

By combining their results, scientists hope to increase the LHC's sensitivity to effects that could result in new physics beyond the Standard Model.

CMS and Atlas experiments

The CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) is a particle detector designed to see a wide range of particle and phenomena that are produced by collisions in the LHC. Scientists can then use this data to answer questions like what is the universe really made of? Or what gives everything substance?

Atlas (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) is a particle physics experiment that searches for new discoveries from head-on collisions of protons of extraordinarily high energy. Scientists are expected to learn about the basic forces that shape our universe since the start of time. It could also provide evidence of dark matter candidates, while the discovery of Higgs means scientists can investigate the origin of mass.

The Standard Model does not predict the mass of the Higgs boson, so it must be measured experimentally. Once scientists have its mass, the Standard Model makes predictions for all the other properties of the Higgs boson, which can be tested by experiments.

CMS spokesperson Tiziano Camporesi said: "The Higgs Boson was discovered at the LHC in 2012 and the study of its properties has just begun. By sharing efforts between ATLAS and CMS, we are going to understand this fascinating particle in more detail and study its behaviour."

Cern Director of Research Sergio Bertolucci added: "While we are just getting ready to restart the LHC, it is admirable to notice the precision already achieved by the two experiments and the compatibility of their results. This is very promising for LHC Run 2."

The Higgs boson decays into various particles. For the latest measurements, results from the two decay channels that best show the mass of Higgs have been combined. The analysis used data from about 4,000 trillion proton-proton collisions at the LHC over 2011 and 2012.

Cern Director General Rolf Heuer said: "Collaboration is really part of our organization's DNA. I'm delighted to see so many brilliant physicists from ATLAS and CMS joining forces for the very first time to obtain this important measurement at the LHC".

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