Higgs hopes for light on dark matter

THE retired scientist whose theory about how the universe works was finally proved this summer said yesterday new particles could be found which could illuminate the mystery of “dark matter”.

Edinburgh-based Professor Peter Higgs predicted that experts at the atom-smashing Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, near Geneva, which found the elusive Higgs boson, may find similar sub-atomic particles to explain the phenomenon.

Speaking at Heriot-Watt University, where the head of the LHC gave his first UK talk since the so-called God Particle was found in July, Prof Higgs said: “The interesting thing is whether there could be others, some family of particles that could tell us more… It would be surprising to me if they found only one.”

Professor Rolf Heuer, director-general of Cern (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research) explained that experts have so far only identified the ­elementary particles which make up 4 per cent of the universe. A quarter consists of mysterious “dark matter”, which the discovery of more particles could explain.