In the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, elementary particles acquire their masses by interacting with the Higgs field. This process is governed by a delicate mechanism: electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB). Although EWSB was first proposed in 1964, it remains among the least understood phenomena of the SM as a large dataset of high-energy particle collisions is required to probe it.
Observation of vector boson scattering (VBS) has been a new research direction after the Higgs Boson discovery in 2012 at the LHC. This observation is crucial to understand the electroweak symmetry breaking dynamics. Vector bosons (the W and Z) are the force-carriers of the weak force, and the successful measurement of these exceedingly rare processes would either provide important tests of the Standard Model of particle physics, or perhaps point the way to new physics.
ATLAS has recently observed the electroweak production of two jets in association with a Z-boson pair using the full Run 2 dataset, which marks the new milestone in the study of EWSB. A detailed review of this analysis will be presented, and further scrutiny of EWSB will continue in other channels as well as with future datasets at the Run 3 and high-luminosity LHC.
