The recent observation of the Higgs boson has been hailed as the scientific discovery of the century and led to the 2013 Nobel Prize in physics. This book describes the detailed science behind the decades-long search for this elusive particle at the Large Electron Positron Collider at CERN and at the Tevatron at Fermilab and its subsequent discovery and characterization at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Written by physicists who played leading roles in this epic search and discovery, this book is an authoritative and pedagogical exposition of the portrait of the Higgs boson that has emerged from a large number of experimental measurements. As the first of its kind, this book should be of interest to graduate students and researchers in particle physics.

This thesis presents a study of the scalar sector in the standard model (SM), as well as various searches for an extended scalar sector in theories beyond the SM (BSM). The first part of the thesis details the search for an SM Higgs boson decaying to taus, and produced by gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, or associated production with a vector boson, leading to evidence for decays of the Higgs boson to taus. In turn, the second part highlights several searches for an extended scalar sector, with scalar boson decays to taus. In all of the analyses presented, at least one scalar boson decays to a pair of taus. The results draw on data collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector during proton–proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 7 or 8 TeV.

These proceedings gather invited and contributed talks presented at the XXI DAE-BRNS High Energy Physics Symposium, which was held at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in December 2014. The contributions cover many of the most active research areas in particle physics, namely (i) Electroweak Physics; (ii) QCD and Heavy Ion Physics; (iii) Heavy Flavour Physics and CP Violation; (iv) Neutrino Physics; (v) Astro-particle Physics and Cosmology; (vi) Formal Theory; (vii) Future Colliders and New Machines; and (viii) BSM Physics: SUSY, Extra Dimensions, Composites etc. The DAE-BRNS High Energy Physics Symposium, widely considered to be one of the premiere symposiums organised in India in the field of elementary particle physics, is held every other year and supported by the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy, India. Roughly 250 physicists and researchers participated in the 21st Symposium, discussing the latest advancements in the field in 18 plenary review talks, 15 invited mini-review talks and approximately 130 contributed presentations. Bringing together the essential content, the book offers a valuable resource for both beginning and advanced researchers in the field.

The book gives a quite complete and up-to-date picture of the Standard Theory with an historical perspective, with a collection of articles written by some of the protagonists of present particle physics. The theoretical developments are described together with the most up-to-date experimental tests, including the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the measurement of its mass as well as the most precise measurements of the top mass, giving the reader a complete description of our present understanding of particle physics.

Lincoln, a senior scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and adjunct professor of physics at Notre Dame, gives readers an insider's view of the Hadron Collider from its conception, through its early discoveries and difficulties, to its greatest triumph, the discovery of the Higgs boson.

The book discusses the recent experimental results obtained at the LHC that involve electroweak bosons. The results are placed into an appropriate theoretical and historical context. The work pays special attention to the rising subject of hadronically decaying bosons with high boosts, documenting the state-of-the-art identification techniques and highlighting typical results. The text is not limited to electroweak physics in the strict sense, but also discusses the use of electroweak vector-bosons as tool in the study of other subjects in particle physics, such as determinations of the proton structure or the search for new exotic particles. The book is particularly well suited for graduate students, starting their thesis work on topics that involve electroweak bosons, as the book provides a comprehensive description of phenomena observable at current accelerators as well as a summary of the most relevant experimental techniques.

'The editors make a good point in claiming the time has come to upgrade the Standard Model into the ‘Standard Theory’ of particle physics, and I think this book deserves a place in the bookshelves of a broad community, from the scientists and engineers who contributed to the progress of high-energy physics to younger physicists, eager to learn and enjoy the corresponding inside stories.'Carlos LourençoCERN CourierThe book gives a quite complete and up-to-date picture of the Standard Theory with an historical perspective, with a collection of articles written by some of the protagonists of present particle physics. The theoretical developments are described together with the most up-to-date experimental tests, including the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the measurement of its mass as well as the most precise measurements of the top mass, giving the reader a complete description of our present understanding of particle physics.