In this blog post, we’ll explore how the Higgs boson confers mass, along with the underlying scientific principles and the latest research trends.

The Origin of Mass: The Story of the Higgs Boson and Modern Physics

When we describe something as “heavy” or “light,” the physical quantity that serves as the standard is mass. Mass refers to the amount of matter contained within an object, and this quantity is an intrinsic property that does not change depending on location or state. So where does this mass come from? While it may seem like a simple question, it is one of the most fundamental topics modern physics has been exploring for decades.
To find the answer to this question, we must go back to the beginning of the universe, immediately after the Big Bang. The mass of the matter we know is deeply connected to the Higgs boson—which existed for a fleeting moment immediately after the universe was created—and the Higgs field formed by it. In this article, I will introduce the scientific background regarding the origin of mass, along with the significance of the Higgs boson in modern physics and the current state of our understanding.

What is the Higgs boson?

The Higgs boson was a hypothetical particle proposed in a theory by British physicist Peter Higgs and other theoretical physicists in 1964. They devised the “Higgs mechanism” to explain how fundamental particles acquire mass, and for this mechanism to hold, the existence of a particle called the Higgs boson was necessary.
However, due to its extremely heavy mass and extremely short lifetime, the Higgs boson remained impossible to observe directly for a long time. Its existence remained unconfirmed for nearly half a century, until July 4, 2012, when its existence was finally confirmed through experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Peter Higgs was subsequently awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for this achievement.
As we enter the mid-2020s, analyses of the Higgs boson’s properties are becoming increasingly precise. While the initial goal was simply to prove its existence, the focus has now shifted to precisely measuring its decay modes, interactions, and contribution to mass, laying the groundwork for expanding beyond the Standard Model into new physical theories.

What does it mean to “endow” something with mass?

The statement that “the Higgs boson endows particles with mass” does not mean that the Higgs boson transfers energy to create mass. Rather, it is a concept similar to how particles experience “resistance” as they pass through the Higgs field—much like the resistance felt when moving through water—and this resistance gives rise to the property of mass.
One common analogy is the crowd that forms when a celebrity walks through a crowded place. When an ordinary person passes by, they move through easily without much reaction, but when a celebrity appears, people gather around them, slowing their movement. In this scenario, the gathered people represent the “Higgs field,” the celebrity represents the “particle,” and the slowing down corresponds to “mass.” In this way, the Higgs field is an invisible energy field that permeates all of space, and elementary particles acquire mass depending on the extent to which they interact with this field.

The Standard Model and the Higgs Particle

The Higgs particle was the final piece needed to complete the Standard Model of modern particle physics.
The Standard Model is a theory that mathematically describes the fundamental particles known to date and the three fundamental forces (electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force). Within this model, 17 fundamental particles are defined, each with a specific role and interaction.
Among them, the Higgs boson is the only scalar boson (a particle with no direction), possessing the unique property of interacting with all other particles and imparting mass to them. Without this particle, the atoms, molecules, and the very world of matter as we know it could not exist.
However, the Standard Model has the limitation of not being able to explain gravity, and the discovery of the Higgs boson has both strengthened the Standard Model and served as a starting point for exploring physics beyond the Standard Model.

Questions Remaining After the Higgs Particle

The discovery of the Higgs particle does not mean that all the mysteries of mass have been solved. Rather, new questions have begun to emerge. For example:

Why is the Higgs field spread throughout the entire universe?
How does the Higgs particle itself possess mass?
Is there another mechanism besides the Higgs particle?
Is the Higgs boson related to “dark matter” or “dark energy”?

In particular, theoretical possibilities such as negative mass or anti-Higgs particles remain subjects of research. According to quantum field theory, there is a theory of pair production and annihilation, in which positive and negative properties are always created in pairs and annihilate each other. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that mass also has a counterpart with opposite properties.
As of the late 2020s, these hypotheses are being studied in conjunction with various theories, including quantum gravity, multidimensional universe models, and supersymmetry, and it is expected that more clues will emerge with the advent of next-generation particle accelerators (e.g., FCC, ILC, etc.).

Why do we seek to understand the origin of mass?

Mass goes beyond simply denoting the quantity of matter; it is directly linked to gravity, one of the fundamental forces of nature. Without mass, gravity could not exist, and the universe would have taken a form completely different from what it is today.
Modern physics has succeeded to some extent in unifying the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces into a Grand Unified Theory (GUT), but gravity remains the sole exception to this unified theory. String theory was proposed to resolve this issue, and theoretical efforts to incorporate gravity into the same framework as the other forces are still ongoing.
The discovery of the Higgs boson provided a crucial clue to understanding the nature of gravity and served as an essential gateway on the path toward a Theory of Everything.

In Conclusion: The Higgs Boson, Mass, and Our Universe

The discovery of the Higgs boson was a symbolic event demonstrating that modern science has taken another step closer to the fundamental principles of the universe. We can now go beyond the mere concept of “weight” to explain why some particles have mass while others do not, and how the property of mass came to exist.
As of 2025, particle physics has entered an era of precision measurement, and the Higgs boson is no longer a mysterious entity but has established itself as a subject for deeper analysis and expansion. Through the existence and properties of the Higgs boson, we are sketching out a larger and more sophisticated cosmology, and perhaps at the end of all these questions lie the secrets of gravity and the true nature of the universe we inhabit.
I hope that as you read this, you too will come to appreciate, through your understanding of the Higgs boson, that science begins with questions. And perhaps one day, your own “why?” will become the starting point for a new chapter in science.