The Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive elementary particle predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. The existence of the particle is postulated to resolve inconsistencies in theoretical physics and attempts are being made to find the particle by experiment, using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and the Tevatron at Fermilab.

The Higgs boson is the only Standard Model particle that has not been observed in particle physics experiments. It is a consequence of the so-called Higgs mechanism which is the part of the Standard Model that explains how most of the known elementary particles become massive.[2] For example, the Higgs boson would explain the difference between the massless photon, which mediates electromagnetism and the massive W and Z bosons which mediate the weak force. If the Higgs boson exists, it is an integral and pervasive component of the material world.