Leaked memo reveals 'discovery of God particle'

It is the most elusive subatomic particle in the universe and itsdiscovery could revolutionise nuclear physics.

So it is no wonder that a rumoured encounter with the Higgsboson, also known as the "God particle", at the Large HadronCollider (LHC) near Geneva has led to hysteria among somescientists. However experts have urged caution over a leakedinternal memo, warning it could well be a false alarm.

Finding the Higgs is one of the main goals of the LHC, a 17-mileunderground tunnel. The Higgs was proposed in the 1960s to explainwhy matter has mass and is the missing piece of the standard modelof particle physics. Speculation has now run wild on the internetafter an anonymous note was posted on the blog of ColumbiaUniversity mathematician Peter Woit.

The memo revealed that one of the LHC detectors had picked up asignal consistent with what Higgs is expected to produce. Thescientists noted that "the present result is the first definitiveobservation of physics beyond the standard model".

But Cern, the European organisation for nuclear research,stressed the note was only preliminary. Spokesman James Gillies saidit was "way, way too early" to confirm whether Higgs had beendetected, and he told Wired magazine: "The vast majority of thesenotes get knocked down before they ever see the light of day."