<p>The Higgs Boson can't be a dark matter particle.</p>

<p>The Higgs Boson decays into other particles about $10^{-22}$ seconds after it forms.  (So fast that the LHC doesn't directly detect the Higgs, it detects the spray of particles decaying from the Higgs). So while the Higgs field is everywhere, there aren't a lot of Higgs bosons in the universe.</p>

<p>Dark matter must be stable for at least as long as the universe has existed. If Cern or someone else did create a dark matter particle, it would only appear as a suddenly missing mass, since it would be stable, and able to pass out of the LHC without interacting with any of the experiments. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-29T21:33:26.077Z
2016-01-29T21:33:26.077Z
James K
<p>To answer this question, we need to understand what dark matter and a Higgs Boson are.</p>

<p><strong>Higgs Boson</strong></p>

<p>A Higgs Boson is an elementary particle in the standard field of quantum physics. It was theorised by a few people, namely Peter Higgs. The Higgs Field is a field which we can now believe exists, as we can detect it through its excitations, which become Higgs Bosons. The quantum excitations of the Higgs Field create Higgs Bosons.</p>

<p>A Higgs Boson is a particle with no spin, infact, it is the only particle with no spin, electric charge or colour charge. It's also extremely unstable and decays into other particles almost instantly.</p>

<p><strong>Dark matter</strong></p>

<p>Dark matter is a heavily researched topic in physics at the moment. Out of all matter in the universe, dark matter makes up about 80% of it! </p>

<p>One example of a theorised candidate for a dark matter particle is a WIMP. These are abbreviations of 'Weakly Interacting Massive Particles'. These particles are not normal matter, therefor we can't detect them. Our efforts to detect them include trying to look at the annihilation of WIMP particles.</p>

<p>The main characteristics of WIMPS are that they only interact through the weak nuclear force or gravity. They also larger than standard particles (a dark matter particle with mass less than a electronvolt is classified as light dark matter)</p>

<p>Wimps move slowly and are therefor cold, making them one of the main candidates for cold dark matter. </p>

<p>Think of dark matter as a 'skeleton' for normal matter.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>

<p>From looking at both types of particles, we can clearly tell that Higgs Bosons are completely different from dark matter. We are still trying to find out about them both, as both of them can answer fundamental questions in physics.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-29T22:23:38.337Z
"*Think of dark matter as a 'skeleton' for dark matter.*" - Hmmm, what?
Victor Stafusa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-27T09:10:01.910Z
The dark matter in the universe provides the gravitational mass needed to pull baryonic matter together into galactic clusters. Dark matter builds the large scale structure of the universe.
James K
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-29T17:12:42.670Z
2016-01-30T06:14:07.570Z
2016-01-30T06:14:07.570Z
Featherball
<p>Sorry if this is a very lay question. I am just an armchair physicist.</p>

<p>The Higgs Boson was just recently discovered, and it has a mass which is considerably larger than a proton. If this Higgs Boson was just recently discovered and the Higgs Boson is EVERYWHERE (ie. The Higgs Field), why wouldn't this perfectly explain the missing mass that is "dark matter" ?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-29T15:49:17.557Z
Could you explain what you mean? Is this a question about why we haven't discovered dark matter yet?
Featherball
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-29T15:55:17.823Z
basically what i mean is that there is a bunch of mass X that hasn't been discovered yet. We discovered a higgs boson a few years ago. It is heavy and there is lots of it. Why couldn't this be the missing mass we are looking for?
Oliver Watkins
<dark-matter>
Is Higgs Boson mass equal to the missing mass of dark matter?
Oliver Watkins
# Is Higgs Boson mass equal to the missing mass of dark matter?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-29)

Sorry if this is a very lay question. I am just an armchair physicist.

The Higgs Boson was just recently discovered, and it has a mass which is considerably larger than a proton. If this Higgs Boson was just recently discovered and the Higgs Boson is EVERYWHERE (ie. The Higgs Field), why wouldn't this perfectly explain the missing mass that is "dark matter" ?

**Tags:** dark-matter
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you explain what you mean? Is this a question about why we haven't discovered dark matter yet?  
> **username_0**: basically what i mean is that there is a bunch of mass X that hasn't been discovered yet. We discovered a higgs boson a few years ago. It is heavy and there is lots of it. Why couldn't this be the missing mass we are looking for?  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-01-29. Score: 2

The Higgs Boson can't be a dark matter particle.

The Higgs Boson decays into other particles about $10^{-22}$ seconds after it forms. (So fast that the LHC doesn't directly detect the Higgs, it detects the spray of particles decaying from the Higgs). So while the Higgs field is everywhere, there aren't a lot of Higgs bosons in the universe.

Dark matter must be stable for at least as long as the universe has existed. If Cern or someone else did create a dark matter particle, it would only appear as a suddenly missing mass, since it would be stable, and able to pass out of the LHC without interacting with any of the experiments.


---

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-01-29. Score: 2

To answer this question, we need to understand what dark matter and a Higgs Boson are.

**Higgs Boson**

A Higgs Boson is an elementary particle in the standard field of quantum physics. It was theorised by a few people, namely Peter Higgs. The Higgs Field is a field which we can now believe exists, as we can detect it through its excitations, which become Higgs Bosons. The quantum excitations of the Higgs Field create Higgs Bosons.

A Higgs Boson is a particle with no spin, infact, it is the only particle with no spin, electric charge or colour charge. It's also extremely unstable and decays into other particles almost instantly.

**Dark matter**

Dark matter is a heavily researched topic in physics at the moment. Out of all matter in the universe, dark matter makes up about 80% of it!

One example of a theorised candidate for a dark matter particle is a WIMP. These are abbreviations of 'Weakly Interacting Massive Particles'. These particles are not normal matter, therefor we can't detect them. Our efforts to detect them include trying to look at the annihilation of WIMP particles.

The main characteristics of WIMPS are that they only interact through the weak nuclear force or gravity. They also larger than standard particles (a dark matter particle with mass less than a electronvolt is classified as light dark matter)

Wimps move slowly and are therefor cold, making them one of the main candidates for cold dark matter.

Think of dark matter as a 'skeleton' for normal matter.

**Conclusion**

From looking at both types of particles, we can clearly tell that Higgs Bosons are completely different from dark matter. We are still trying to find out about them both, as both of them can answer fundamental questions in physics.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: "*Think of dark matter as a 'skeleton' for dark matter.*" - Hmmm, what?  
> **username_2**: The dark matter in the universe provides the gravitational mass needed to pull baryonic matter together into galactic clusters. Dark matter builds the large scale structure of the universe.  

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