God particle: ‘India is like a historic father of the project’

PTI

Kolkata/Geneva, 04 Jul 2012: The discovery of a new sub-atomic particle that is crucial to understanding how the universe is built announced in Geneva today has an intrinsic Indian connection.

A large number of Indian scientists, representing the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Harishchandra Research Institute, Allahabad and Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, were involved in the world’s most ambitious experiment over the years.

The Indian link to the world’s ambitious experiment was also significantly reflected in comments ahead of the announcement by CERN scientists that a sub-atomic particle "consistent" with the Higgs boson or ’God particle’ has been spotted.

"India is like a historic father of the project," said Paolo Giubellino, spokesperson of Geneva-based European Organisation for Nuclear Research, famously known as CERN.

As scientists thrashed out the ’God particle’ in its physical form in a giant collider, there was palpable excitement at SINP since its scientists had made significant contributions to the development of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments at CERN.

The long-sought particle, known as Higgs boson, is also partly named after an Indian scientist Satyendra Nath Bose, who worked with Albert Einstein in the 1920s and made discoveries that led to the most coveted prize in particle physics.

Stating that it was a historical moment in physics and SINP took pride in being a part of the history, the Institute irector Milan Sanyal said "It will require more data and intense scrutiny to establish these findings beyond any doubt.

"This is an important moment for the development of science and I am very happy that our institute, this city and our country is part of the science revolution," he told PTI in Kolkata.

He said that the core CMS team of the SINP had five faculty members — group leader Prof Sunanda Banerjee, Prof Satyaki Bhattacharya, Prof Suchandra Datta, Prof Subir Sarkar and Prof Manoj Saran.

The phrase " God particle" was coined by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman but is used by laymen, not physicists, as an easier way of explaining how the subatomic universe works and got started.

Meanwhile, Cosmologist Archan Majumder, who is attached with the S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, today termed the spotting of the sub-atomic particle "consistent" with the ’God Particle’ as a victory for human civilization.

"The discovery is revolutionary in human history. This is a great victory of the fundamental knowledge of human civilization," Majumder told here.

The ’God Particle’ of Higgs Boson is regarded as key to understanding the formation of the universe.

"There has been a strong indication of finding the much-awaited new subatomic particle which, though requiring more and more experiments for confirmation in coming years, will go a long way in unravelling the mystery of the evolution of the universe," he said.

Besides scientists from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, those from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Harishchandra Research Institute, Allahabad and Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, were involved in the CERN experiment over the years, he said.