LONDON (AP) — Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the so-called “God particle” that helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang, has died at age 94, the University of Edinburgh said Tuesday.
The university, where Higgs was emeritus professor, said he died Monday following a short illness.
Higgs predicted the existence of a new particle, which came to be known as the Higgs boson, in 1964. He theorized there must be a subatomic particle of certain dimension that would explain how other particles — and therefore all the stars and planets in the universe — acquired mass. Without something like this particle, the set of equations physicists use to describe the world, known as the standard model, would not hold together.
Higgs’ work helps scientists understand one of the most fundamental riddles of the universe: how the Big Bang created something out of nothing 13.8 billion years ago. Without mass from the Higgs, particles could not clump together into the matter we interact with every day.
But it would be almost 50 years before the particle’s existence could be confirmed. In 2012, in one of the biggest breakthroughs in physics in decades, scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, announced that they had finally found a Higgs boson using the Large Hadron Collider, the $10 billion atom smasher in a 17-mile (27-kilometer) tunnel under the Swiss-French border.
The collider was designed in large part to find Higgs' particle. It produces collisions with extraordinarily high energies in order to mimic some of the conditions that were present in the trillionths of seconds after the Big Bang.
Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work, alongside Francois Englert of Belgium, who independently came up with the same theory.
Edinburgh University Vice Chancellor Peter Mathieson said Higgs, who was born in Newcastle, was “a remarkable individual – a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us.”
“His pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists, and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations to come.”
Born in Newcastle, northeast England, on May 29, 1929, Higgs studied at King’s College, University of London, and was awarded a doctorate in 1954. He spent much of his career at Edinburgh, becoming the Personal Chair of Theoretical Physics at the Scottish university in 1980. He retired in 1996.
One highlight of Higgs’ career came in the 2013 presentation at CERN in Geneva where scientists presented in complex terms — based on statistical analysis unfathomable to most laypeople -- that the boson had been confirmed. He broke into tears, wiping down his glasses in the stands of a CERN lecture hall.
“There was an emotion — a kind of vibration -- going around in the auditorium,'' Fabiola Gianotti, the CERN director-general told The Associated Press. "That was just a unique moment, a unique experience in a professional life.''
“Peter was a very touching person. He was so sweet, so warm at the same time. And so always interested in what other people had to say,'' she said. "Able to listen to other people … open, and interesting, and interested.”
Joel Goldstein, of the School of Physics at the University of Bristol, said: “Peter Higgs was a quiet and modest man, who never seemed comfortable with the fame he achieved even though this work underpins the entire modern theoretical framework of particle physics.”
Gianotti recalled how Higgs often bristled at the term “God particle” for his discovery: “I don’t think he liked this kind of definition,” she said. “It was not in his style.”
Professor Peter Higgs at the Science Museum, London on Dec. 11, 2013. The University of Edinburgh says Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the Higgs boson particle, has died at 94. Higgs predicted the existence of a new particle — the so-called Higgs boson — in 1964. But it would be almost 50 years before the particle’s existence could be confirmed at the Large Hadron Collider. Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work, alongside Francois Englert of Belgium. (Sean Dempsey/PA via AP)
FILE - Britain's Professor Peter Higgs smiles during a press conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Oct. 11, 2013. The University of Edinburgh says Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the Higgs boson particle, has died at 94. Higgs predicted the existence of a new particle — the so-called Higgs boson — in 1964. But it would be almost 50 years before the particle’s existence could be confirmed at the Large Hadron Collider. Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work, alongside Francois Englert of Belgium. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their record levels Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped the 40,000 level for the first time.
The Dow was up 55 points, or 0.1%, at 39,965 in late trading. The S&P 500 index, which is much more widely followed on Wall Street and dictates the performance of many more 401(k) accounts than the Dow, was virtually unchanged, with an hour remaining in trading. The Nasdaq composite was also flat.
All three indexes had rallied on Wednesday to all-time highs. They've charged higher despite high inflation, the punishing effects of high interest rates and worries about a recession that seemed inevitable but hasn’t arrived.
Walmart was one of the strongest forces lifting the market, and it rose 7.2% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said its revenue for the year could top the forecasted range it had earlier given.
Walmart's strength could be an encouraging signal for the broader economy. Worries have been rising about whether U.S. households can keep up with still-high inflation and more expensive credit-card payments, particularly those making lower incomes.
Target, which reports its quarterly results next week, climbed following Walmart's report, along with other retailers like Dollar General and Dollar Tree. Each added at least 2.5%.
Chubb climbed 4.8% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had built an ownership stake in the insurer.
Stronger-than-expected profit reports have been one of the main reasons U.S. stock indexes jumped through May to records following a tough April. Another has been revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut its main interest rate at least once or twice this year. The Fed has been keeping its federal funds rate at the highest level in more than two decades.
A string of worse-than-expected reports on inflation at the start of the year had put the potential for such cuts in jeopardy, but some more encouraging data has since arrived.
Treasury yields have largely eased in May as hopes rose that the economy could hit the hoped-for sweet spot, where it cools enough because of high interest rates to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a bad recession. Yields rose Thursday following some mixed data on the economy.
One report showed slightly more workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, though the number remains low compared with history. Others said homebuilders broke ground on fewer projects last month than expected, manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region was weaker than hoped and import prices rose more than forecast.
“Today’s numbers were in line with the overall theme of the week — nothing dramatic, but showing signs of a steady-to-cooling economy,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked up to 4.37% from 4.35% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for action by the Fed, rose to 4.79% from 4.72%.
On the losing end of Wall Street, Deere fell 4.5% despite reporting stronger profit for its latest quarter than expected. It cut its forecast for profit over the full fiscal year below analysts’ estimates, as farmers buy fewer tractors and other equipment.
Homebuilders fell following the weaker-than-expected report on housing starts. They gave back some of their big gains from the day before, when hopes for lower mortgage rates had sent them sharply higher. Lennar fell 2.3%, and D.R. Horton sank 3.2%.
GameStop and AMC Entertainment slid for a second straight day, pulling back further from their jaw-dropping starts to the week. They’ve been moving more on excitement drummed up by investors than any changes to their financial prospects.
GameStop fell 24.7%, though it’s still up 70% for the week so far. AMC Entertainment lost 11.9%.
Under Armour swung between losses and gains after it warned that its revenue will be likely down by “a low double-digit percentage rate” this upcoming fiscal year, citing weaker demand from wholesalers and “inconsistent execution across our business.” The company announced a restructuring plan to cut costs and also announced a program to buy back up to $500 million of its stock. It was down 1.5%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were modestly lower in much of Europe after mostly rising in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% after reopening following a holiday, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
FILE - An entrance to the New York Stock Exchange is shown on May 8, 2024, in New York. Shares opened lower in Europe on Thursday, May 16, 2024, after most Asian benchmarks gained, tracking a Wall Street rally driven by hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A person passes an entrance to the Wall Street subway station in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Trading on Wall Street is muted early ahead of the U.S. government's latest reports on inflation and retail sales. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Banners for Pinterest, displayed to mark the fifth anniversary of the company's listing, hang on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. U.S. stocks are rising toward records with hope that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
