Peter Higgs, the Nobel prize-winning physicist whose theories helped explain the nature of mass, has died at the age of 94.
Sixty years after the University of Edinburgh scientist proposed the existence of a field that gives other fundamental particles mass, 12 years after the particle bearing his name was discovered at the European particle accelerator at Cern and 11 years after he purposely headed out for a walk and lunch so as to be uncontactable on the day of the Nobel prize announcement, Higgs died peacefully at home, colleagues said.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said that his death followed a short illness. “Peter Higgs was a remarkable individual — a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us,” he said.
• Professor Peter Higgs obituary: Theoretical physicist who won the Nobel prize
“His pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists, and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations”
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The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 confirmed the existence of the associated Higgs field, which gives other fundamental particles mass. This helped complete a system for understanding the subatomic world known as the Standard Model. The field had been posited at the same time by other scientists but it was Higgs’ name that had been irrevocably attached to it — despite his efforts to share the credit.
Higgs reportedly disliked the fame that resulted, which only grew with the particle’s eventual discovery following experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern. He complained that he would be beset by people seeking selfies and that if he went to the school of physics at Edinburgh, where in latter years a painting of him was on display, “a horde of students … will descend on me bearing smartphones”.
On the day of the 2013 Nobel prize, which most assumed would be awarded for the discovery of the Higgs boson, he purposely left home and headed out for lunch — leaving the Swedish committee unable to reach him.
Frank Close, emeritus professor of theoretical physics at the University of Oxford, said this was typical of the scientist. “Peter Higgs and his boson were both elusive. He disliked the limelight but was comfortable with friends and colleagues. His boson took 48 years to appear, and when the Nobel was announced, he had disappeared to his favourite seafood bar in Leith,” said Close, who wrote a biography of Higgs titled Elusive.
Close said that the theories of Higgs and the work of experimenters to validate them are “not just arcane stuff” but are crucial to all of us. “The vacuum is filled with a weird essence called the Higgs field. We need it like fish need water: without it, nothing we know would exist.
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“How do we know? Like an electromagnetic field can burst into light — strike a match — so the Higgs field can too if you heat the vacuum by using the Large Hadron Collider. Higgs bosons were everywhere at the hot big bang but as the universe cooled they went into slumber. We resurrected them in 2012.”
Professor Andy Buckley, of the University of Glasgow, said that other physicists appreciated Higgs’ somewhat grumpy “tendency to lob spanners in the machinery”. He recalled a meeting at Cern with figures from industry and government about the importance of collaboration. “Peter was obviously a little put out at being a wheeled out as a mascot. So he was asked to say some kick-off words to get everyone in the mood, but instead said, ‘I’m not really sure why I’m here, because I never really collaborated with anyone in my whole career.’ To the physicists like me, it was like a declaration of what tribe he was in.”
Professor Brian Cox, a particle physicist and television presenter from the University of Manchester, said Higgs was a pleasure to know. “Beyond being a famous physicist — I think to his embarrassment at times — he was always charming and modest,” Cox said via Twitter/X.
Thanks to the particle, Cox added, Higgs had gained a form of immortality. “His name will be remembered as long as we do physics.”
