"Fabiola Gianotti is the woman who by dint of looking for them has seen waves and particles dance in front of her eyes which she herself defined as beautiful and elegant”. With these words Giovanna Melandri, president of the MAXXI Foundation, presented the director general of Cern, one of the most important figures in contemporary physics, who almost six years ago announced to the world the momentous discovery that changed science and marked a turning point in the understanding of nature: the detection of the Higgs boson, the God particle.
Arrived in Rome to participate in some events, Gianotti inaugurated the series of meetings with artists, scientists, philosophers, which will be held at the museum designed by Zaha Hadid in connection with the exhibition GRAVITY, Imagine the Universe after Einstein. With her also the president of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics Fernando Ferroni.
In context in which science, philosophy and aesthetics have managed to merge, the two physicists tried to explain their investigations into the universe. Studies made up of many questions and few answers that the number one at Cern tried to illustrate and convey (physics is certainly not a simple matter) for almost two hours.
By the way, there are tons of questions to solve about the universe: where are we?
“There is still so much to discover, we only know 5% of the universe. The remaining 95% is made of matter and energy that we do not know or partially know, this is exciting, challenging and leads us to ask ourselves many questions. For example: where did the antimatter go? The universe today is made almost exclusively of matter, but we think that in the beginning matter and antimatter were present in equal quantities. Subsequently, nature created an imbalance, an asymmetry. We exist thanks to these small asymmetries, somehow the universe tells us that perfection does not exist, because if it did we would not exist. The laws of physics are beautiful, symmetrical, also interesting from an aesthetic point of view.
We must continue to seek answers, to face new challenges trying to be very open in the approaches and strands to pursue. Years and years ago quantum mechanics and relativity were considered useless knowledge. Yet without them modern electronics would not exist. The fathers of these theories weren't trying to create new electronics, but to understand how the universe works and this is a very important message for me: the usefulness of useless science."
Can you tell us what the Higgs boson is?
“The Higgs boson has a very long history, it is a particle predicted in the 60s with the intention of tackling a problem: how do elementary particles acquire mass? If they didn't have it, the atoms wouldn't be together. It is special, because its job is to provide mass for all other particles. If he didn't, the universe wouldn't exist.
In 64 Peter Higgs (Nobel Prize for Physics in 2013, ed.) thought that there must be a property, the Field that took his name, which provided the elementary particles with mass. We've been looking for the boson for decades. To be able to find out, we had to work for 50 years on projects involving thousands of scientists from many countries. It required the development of revolutionary ideas and technologies, such as accelerators. It wasn't easy."
On July 4, 2012 the announcement. As spokesman of the Atlas experiment together with Joseph Incandela, spokesman of the CMS experiment, he announced to the world the first observation of the Higgs boson. How does it feel to say that a discovery has been made that changes the history of humanity?
"For an experimental physicist, discovery is the greatest dream of a professional life. I was lucky enough to contribute to the boson and witness the discovery of gravitational waves. It was a special day, very emotional. We were coming from a very intense final rush, six weeks of work, incessant checks day and night. The most important feeling was the pride of being part of a group of physicists that I represented at the time. It took us years and our determination was crowned by this result”.
What is it like to work at CERN and become the director general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research?
“17 scientists from all countries collaborate at Cern. Some of them come from war zones, others from countries that don't even recognize the right to exist. Italy also makes an important contribution by providing brains, scientists and technology. We work together because science is democratic. It transcends politics, culture, the diversities that fracture the world. There is a common passion that allows us to collaborate. Science can play a pivotal role in a fractured way, because it's unifying, the laws of physics are the same everywhere. Knowing more, knowing more is an aspiration common to all. Science is glue. Places like Cern or other large research centers can sow grains of peace”.
He spoke about Italy's contribution to science and physics. But in parallel we know the difficulties that young researchers are forced to face in our country to pursue their passion. What do you think?
“Italy excels in the field of fundamental physics and particle physics. We have a great tradition, excellent universities. I see a lot of young people from my observation point at Cern and the Italians are among the best, but we must try to maintain a high standard. I always advise young people to go abroad because it's good for them, but a young person who wants to return to Italy to do research in his country must absolutely have the opportunity to do so".
The foundations of what later became the World Wide Web were laid at Cern. Unfortunately, over the years the web has also turned into one of the main vehicles of anti-scientific theories. What can the scientific world do to overcome this phenomenon?
“Knowledge cannot be stopped for fear of how it will then be used. Atomic and nuclear physics created atomic and nuclear weapons but also nuclear medicine which is very important today. What science can do is try to make people understand what the scientific method is. So also help build the foundations that will lead everyone to distinguish real news from fake news, help understand the concept of measurement and its error. Science must open up more and more towards society and give people these tools for judgement".
You still have several years ahead of you at the helm of Cern. Have you thought about what you will do next?
"I am a researcher at Cern and I hope that at the end of my mandate I will be able to stay there and go back to doing field research, with my own hands".
