CDF precision measurement of W-boson mass suggests a lighter Higgs particle
Scientists of the CDF collaboration at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced today (January 8, 2007) the world's most precise measurement by a single experiment of the mass of the W boson, the carrier of the weak nuclear force and a key parameter of the Standard Model of particles and forces. The new W-mass value leads to an estimate for the mass of the yet-undiscovered Higgs boson that is lighter than previously predicted, in principle making observation of this elusive particle more likely by experiments at the Tevatron particle collider at Fermilab.