Francois Englert of Belgium and Peter Higgs of Britain were on Tuesday named as winners of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on the Boson, a particle that explains the existence of mass and holds the key to understanding the universe.
The two physicists were awarded the prize “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
Nicknamed the God Particle, the Higgs Boson was the missing piece in the Standard Model of physics, which describes how atoms interact but could not explain why they have mass.
Englert and Higgs developed the theory in the 1960s.
Experiments at the nuclear research organisation CERN in Switzerland have shown that the Boson is likely to actually exist.
The academy said the boson theory was “confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle” at CERN.
“Now I am very happy,” Englert said when the academy reached him by phone.
Asked what he planned to do with the prize money he replied: “I don’t know.” He shares 8 million kronor (1.2 million dollars) with Higgs.
“I am very, very happy to receive this extraordinary award,” he added.
Englert said the first time he met Higgs was in July 2012. “I am going to congratulate him,” he said.
Higgs said in a statement issued by Edinburgh University where he is professor emeritus: “I am overwhelmed to receive this award and thank the Royal Swedish Academy.”
He added: “I would also like to congratulate all those who have contributed to the discovery of this new particle and to thank my family, friends and colleagues for their support.
“I hope this recognition of fundamental science will help raise awareness of the value of blue-sky research.”