Ingredients for a discovery: Theory, experiment and a lot of patience

Annalen der Physik – striving for excellence

“…The current issue is certainly a true highlight: We are glad to present to you, with kind permission of the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, the Nobel Lectures given by both winners of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, François Englert [1] and Peter W. Higgs [2]. They are accompanied by an Expert Opinion [3] from Rolf-Dieter Heuer, CERN Director General, highlighting the groundbreaking theoretical achievements of both scientists and summarizing the recent observations in Geneva. From the Higgs boson prediction in 1964 to the experimental confirmation of the Standard Model and the origin of subatomic particle mass in 2012, it took almost half a century of intense basic research.…”