Breakthrough Prize 2025

Context:

Recently, the Experimental High Energy Physics Group of Bose Institute has received the Breakthrough Prize 2025 in Fundamental Physics. It got the price

for its contribution to the ALICE experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

About the Breakthrough Prize 2025:

Awarded to researchers from over 70 countries, part of four LHC experiments at CERN — ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb.
Recognises contributions in:
- Confirming Higgs boson properties and mass generation via symmetry breaking.
- Discovery of new strongly interacting particles.
- Insights into matter-antimatter asymmetry.
- Studying extreme conditions and rare processes in high-energy physics.
Bose Institute’s Role: Part of the ALICE experiment, which focuses on Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) — matter that existed just after the Big Bang.
About CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research):
- Founded: 1954, post-WWI joint scientific venture.
- Headquarters: On the Franco–Swiss border, near Geneva.
- Members: 23 Member States; India is an Associate Member.
- Focuses on high-energy particle physics research.
The Four LHC Collaborations:
- ATLAS: Largest detector; studies Higgs boson and searches for unknown particles.
- CMS: Versatile detector for Standard Model, dark matter, and extra dimensions.
- ALICE: Studies QGP — ultra-hot, dense early-universe matter.
- LHCb: Investigates beauty quarks (b quarks) and matter-antimatter imbalance.

Prelims Practice Question:

Q. The ALICE experiment, which recently received global recognition, is associated with which of the following?

A. Gravitational Wave Detection

B. Climate Change Monitoring

C. High-Energy Particle Physics at CERN

D. Ocean Current Simulation

Answer: C