LEP : Top and Higgs: Conference MT17

Although not produced in an observable way, heavy particles like the top quark and perhaps the Higgs particle made their presence felt at LEP. This is due to one of the more curious features of quantum physics. Particles can appear from the quantum vacuum for an imperceptibly short length of time before disappearing back into the vacuum again, and these quantum fluctuations leave their traces in the 'real' world. The theoretical work that has made calculations of such phenomena possible was recognised by the award of the 1999 Nobel Prize for physics to Gerardus t'Hooft and Martinus Veltman. Their work allowed LEP to establish the Standard Model as a true quantum field theory, one of its great-est achievements.