ABSTRACT
The electroweak theory has been scrutinized in great detail for more than 25 years, with experimentalists seeking to check as many of its predictions as possible. The observation of the weak bosons at CERN in 1983 was a triumph for the electroweak theory. The search for these particles began in 1976 when Rubbia, Cline, and McIntyre proposed that the CERN Super-Proton-Synchrotron (SPS) be converted into a storage ring in which protons and antiprotons would counter-accelerated up to high speeds and then collide. The leptons emerging from the decays must be isolated, i.e. not appearing inside a jet. The main purpose of the Large Hadron Collider is to carry out a direct search for the Higgs boson. If it is found it will put in place the last piece of the puzzle in the Standard Model.
