Beyond the Boson: The Higgs and What´s Next

In 2012, physicists at CERN discovered what they were hoping to find: the Higgs boson. This elusive particle - long predicted and longer hunted - completed the Standard Model and earned its place in the textbooks. But while the Model may be complete, it is far from comprehensive. It says nothing about dark matter, fails to explain the apparent imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe, and leaves neutrinos without a mass.
In this colloquium, I take stock of where we are now, more than a decade after the Higgs discovery, and where we might be headed. Sitting at the heart of the theory, and being the newest member of the Model, the Higgs boson will be our central focus. Together, we will explore the Higgs not just as a particle, but as a portal to new scientific exploration. We’ll look beyond the boson, asking whether it is truly „Standard“ - or simply playing the part for now.