Higgs mechanism

Layer 1 — Physicsin the standard-model subtree

Spontaneous breaking of electroweak SU(2)×U(1) by a scalar doublet vacuum expectation value; gives mass to W± and Z while leaving the photon massless.

Related concepts

Higgs boson
Electroweak unification
Spontaneous symmetry breaking
SU(2)_L × U(1)_Y electroweak theory
Custodial SU(2) symmetry
Higgs, Coulomb, and confining phases
Quotient group

Explore Higgs mechanism on the interactive knowledge graph →