Fermilab 'closing in' on the God particle

[n2doc]

17:28 17 February 2009 by Ivan Semeniuk

Scientists with the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Illinois, home of the Tevatron particle accelerator, say their ageing machine now stands at least a 50% chance of spotting the elusive Higgs boson by the end of next year.

The estimate is based on the accelerator's efficiency at producing high energy particle collisions, now running at an all-time high, and the chances that the Higgs' mass falls within a range detectable at Fermilab.

With CERN's malfunctioning Large Hadron Collider (LHC) more than six months away from restarting, and another year or more from releasing data, it looks increasingly likely that the Tevatron will have a clear run at being the first to spot the Higgs.

more:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16618-fermilab-cl...