After the God Particle: The Search for ‘Dark Matter’—What’s Next?

After waiting for more than four decades, the elusive God Particle—also known as the Higgs boson—has finally been found. So, will the researchers just sit back now?

Following the announcement on July 4 in Geneva by researchers from the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) regarding the discovery of a particle similar to the God Particle or Higgs boson, plans are underway to begin a new line of research using the device known as the Large Hadron Collider.

Leaving behind their research on the God Particle, they are now setting out to solve another mysterious phenomenon. Their next quest is to uncover the source and nature of ‘dark matter’ and dark energy, which may hold the keys to unraveling the mysteries of this universe. This information was reported by The Telegraph.

Physicists believe, “There is a force holding the universe together, and that just might be this dark matter. Dark matter surrounds us everywhere, yet we cannot perceive its existence. This is because dark matter neither emits, reflects, nor produces light. Dark matter makes up 84 percent of the whole universe.”
The researchers are hopeful that with the Large Hadron Collider, they will be able to produce dark matter in the lab. For this, however, they will need to use beams of particles ten times more powerful for collisions. CERN authorities have approved their plan.

The researchers have said that studies on the Higgs boson will continue till the end of this year. After that, the LHC will be shut down for over a year to allow for repairs and the integration of advanced technology. They hope that by 2020, with these upgrades, the LHC will transform into the ‘Super LHC’, capable of uncovering even rarer particles.