Higgs mechanism
Particle Physics
noun
The spontaneous symmetry breaking of the electromagnetic and weak interactions by the agency of a Higgs field.
- The mechanism is invoked to account for the fact that the W and Z particles (mediators of the weak force) have mass but the photon (mediator of the electromagnetic force) does not. An implication of the mechanism is the existence of a Higgs particle..
Origin
1970s.