An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → scalar field supposed to be responsible for the genesis of → inertial mass. According to the → standard model of → particle physics, the Higgs field appeared
10^-36 to 10^-12 seconds after the → Big Bang, during the → electroweak epoch, when the temperature dropped below a critical threshold. The Higgs field permeates all space, and through its interaction with the fundamental particles it provides those particles with a mass. Any particle that does not interact with the Higgs field, such as the → photon,
will be mass-less.

See also: → Higgs boson; → field.