Went to the lecture today: http://lotus.phys.northwestern.edu/~gshau/Home/NU-HEP_seminar.html Appears there is a bump in the data around 125 GeV where there is some hope of finding the Higgs boson. Also, while there is no indication that the Higgs is a scalar boson, that is what most believe, so I should probably stop calling a vector boson. Vector vs scalar, meaning that it has only one degree of freedom, as in it doesn't have spin or charge.
BTW, I should add that if the Higgs is at 125 GeV, then 2012 will be an exciting year because it will likely be discovered and announced.
I suspect that the next great new hope will come from theory and not experiment, and I think this is likely where it comes from: <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XhISMXomtek?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The [lightest] neutralino would probably be the biggest surprise discovery at LHC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutralino It would prove the existance of SUSY, and it is [one of the] theorized non-baryonic particles that comprise dark matter. The reason we suspect that SUSY exists is the properties of the neutralino perfectly solve many of the outstanding problems of the standard model. More, it demands them.
The end is near for the discovery of the Higgs, http://www.newscientist.com/article...sing-as-trouble-brews-for-standard-model.html and the exciting story begins for SUSY? http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21279-lhc-sees-hint-of-lightweight-higgs-boson.html
http://public.web.cern.ch/public/ 3-Sigma that the Higgs is bagged. Can't cal it a discovery until it is 5-Sigma. Monumental. But the energy of it means that it is a family of Higgs and not a single particle. Great time to become a theoretical or experimental physicist. People are asking how this will affect them on a day-to-day basis, and the replies are it won't at all. Don't believe it. It is very possible that this will eventually lead to (and may be the to) future technology we can't even imagine yet. Granted, it may take 100 years, but so what? PS, sorry it is a 5-Sigma event so it is official.
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1458922 Simple video that describes the Higgs field and Higgs boson and how it fits into the Standard Model.
Best introduction to the Higgs mechanism, period: <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JqNg819PiZY?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Susskind makes a couple of mistakes, so double check everything. But the essence of the talk is phenomenal.
This is incredible news: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23003-higgs-boson-having-an-identity-crisis.html We will be seeing new Physics beyond the Standard Model soon is my prediction, and that will be incredibly interesting. SUSY anyone?