Perspectives and Questions: Toward an Expansive Agenda for Particle Physics

Abstract

Global celebration greeted the 2012 discovery at CERN's Large Hadron Collider of a particle that matches the textbook description of the Higgs boson. That achievement validated a remarkable chain of theoretical reasoning that combined the prescriptive notion of electroweak gauge symmetry with a simple, but \emph{ad hoc}, embodiment of spontaneous symmetry breaking. It was made possible by generational triumphs of accelerator art and experimental technique, and by human resourcefulness and collaboration on a global scale, all sustained by the enlightened support of many governments and institutions. Some imagine that, once the keystone of the standard model of particle physics has been set, our subject is over. Others worry that we may be at an impasse because no comparable wonders have appeared, leaving us without well-defined clues to a more complete paradigm. I am neither so readily satisfied nor so {easily} discouraged: we have so much more to learn! This essay surveys many questions that, taken together, constitute an inspiring array of opportunities to enhance our understanding of the physical world.