‘God particle’ research and other top physics stories of 2011

These events and discoveries make up the key stories in the field of physics this year.

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Clues to the ‘God particle’

Scientists said on Dec. 13 that they’re homing in on the Higgs boson, the elusive theoretical particle that’s believed to play a key role in the fabric of the universe. Although researchers haven’t found the Higgs conclusively, one of them said there was an “excess of events” detected in particle-collider experiments that hints at where the Higgs could be found. The announcement of new data obtained by experiments conducted by two teams at the Large Hadron Collider, the huge apparatus near Geneva, was closely followed by the global physics community. No one expected a definitive discovery, and none was announced. But scientists who gathered in an auditorium for a seminar at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) erupted in sustained applause at what seems to be a major step toward a scientific breakthrough.

/ CERN

Clues to the ‘God particle’

CERN described its progress on the Higgs boson research this way: “Tantalizing hints have been seen ... but these are not yet strong enough to claim a discovery.” Here, one of the end-cap calorimeters for the ATLAS experiment is moved using a set of rails.

/ CERN

Clues to the ‘God particle’

The Higgs is often referred to in the media as “the God particle,” the title of a book by physicist Leon Lederman. The particle’s more orthodox name is in honor of theorist Peter Higgs, who predicted its existence in 1964.

/ CERN

High-speed neutrinos

Scientists at CERN said in September that they had clocked subatomic particles, called neutrinos, traveling faster than light. If true, that feat would break a fundamental pillar of science, the idea that nothing is supposed to move faster than light, at least according to Einstein's theory of relativity.

/ AP

High-speed neutrinos

Physicists Dario Auterio and Antonio Ereditato head to a seminar to present the results of their study of the speed of neutrinos. The tiny particles were clocked at 300,006 kilometers per second, about six kilometers a second faster than the speed of light, the researchers said.

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP/Getty Images

High-speed neutrinos

Like the research on Higgs boson, the neutrino study was conducted by the European Organization for Nuclear Research, pictured here.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

The universe’s expansion

Three American astrophysicists were awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics for showing that the universe is flying apart at an ever-accelerating pace, a discovery that overturned decades of assumptions in the field of cosmology. The finding all but settled one of the biggest questions in science — the ultimate fate of the universe. Billions of years from now, as galaxies continue to pull apart from one another, the ever-enlarging universe will turn black and cold. Pictured here is astronomer Adam Riess, who won the prize along with American Saul Perlmutter and U.S.-Australian citizen Brian Schmidt.

Gail Burton / AP

The universe’s expansion

Saul Perlmutter, posing here with his daughter's telescope, is one of three scientists who shared this year's Nobel Prize for physics.

Paul Sakuma / AP

The universe’s expansion

Brian Schmidt, a citizen of both the U.S. and Australia, was the third scientist to share the prize.

Adrian Schmidt / AP

Endeavor’s alpha magnetic spectrometer

On the space shuttle Endeavor's final flight, it brought with it a $2 billion, seven-ton cosmic experiment about 17 years in the making. The brainchild of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Samuel C.C. Ting, an experiment called the alpha magnetic spectrometer will sniff space for cosmic rays, antimatter, dark matter and other exotic and poorly understood phenomena. If the mission goes as planned, the device will deliver marquee science to the international space station, pictured here.

NASA / Getty Images

Endeavor’s alpha magnetic spectrometer

The Energy Department says it contributed $50 million to the AMS experiment, and NASA will spend an additional $104 million through 2020, not including the expense of the shuttle flight. Fifteen other countries picked up the rest of the tab. Here space shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Bill Ingalls / NASA

Endeavor’s alpha magnetic spectrometer

One mystery scientists hope the experiment will unlock is what happened to the antimatter that prevailing theories say the big bang was supposed to create. Here, the Earth frames space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay, vertical stabilizer and orbital maneuvering system while in orbit.

NASA / AFP/Getty Images

Tevatron shut down

After a remarkable run as the most successful atom smasher in the world, the Tevatron — a four-mile underground ring about 50 miles west of Chicago — smashes no more. The Tevatron was shut down Sept. 30, marking an end to the era of big physics in the United States. Tevatron has been rendered obsolete by CERN’s even bigger and more powerful atom smasher built in the Alps. Here, a life-sized photo of the Tevatron particle accelerator's detector hangs at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Mira Oberman / AFP/Getty Images

Tevatron shut down

Employees man the main control room that runs all the accelerators at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., including the Tevatron collider. This photo was taken 10 days before the facility was shut down.

M. Spencer Green / AP

Tevatron shut down

Accelerator division head Roger Dickson stands in front of a Cockcroft-Walton generator at the Fermi lab.

M. Spencer Green / AP

Featured Photo Galleries

PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 29: Serena Williams of USA stretches to plays a forehand in her women's singles first round match between Serena Williams of USA and Virginie Razzano of France during day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 29, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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Winnie Pajcic, 9, holds on to a railing as she leans back in the wind during a visit to Stockton Park in Ortega, Fla., in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Beryl on Monday May 28, 2012. Beryl came ashore early Monday near Jacksonville Beach with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

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Camels, tigers, turtles, a giant stag beetle and more in animal views

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ANNAPOLIS, MD- MAY 29: Graduates cheer as the Blue Angels fly over during the 100th anniversary of the United States Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremonies in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. U.S Sec. of Defense Leon Edward Panetta gave the graduation address. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

U.S. Naval Academy graduation

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave the commencement address at the ceremony.

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 26: Singer/actress Jennifer Lopez (C) performs with dancers during the Q'Viva! The Chosen Live show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 26, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Lil Jon, Eddie Van Halen, Mariah Carey and other celebrities.

Doc Watson, bluegrass and folk legend, dies at 89

The blind singer and guitarist was a Grammy winner, known for his flat-picking style of guitar playing.

Henry, a calf, sustained a head wound and required stitches after being slashed over the weekend.

Farm animals attacked in Fairfax

A calf, two goats and a chicken were slashed over the weekend at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon.

COVINGTON, LA - MAY 14: Brother Emmanuel Labrise of St. Joseph's Abbey prepares a casket for lining on May 15, 2012 in Covington, Louisiana. Louisiana law forbids those who are not licensed funeral directors from selling caskets. And since Hurricane Katrina leveled the timberlands that once provided the main source of funding for the abbey, the monks have attempted to make a living by building and selling simple cypress caskets. The monks won their first round last year, and have a hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in June. (Photo by Sean Gardner/For the Washington Post)

Louisiana monks fight for the right to sell coffins

Federal court case pits a group of monks against the funeral home industry.

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