An analysis of these smash-ups indicates the mass of the particle being sought.

WSJ: New Data Boosts Case for Higgs Boson Find

The frequency at which it happens is related to a small but significant difference between the mass of the particle and its antiparticle.

ECONOMIST: Cosmology and particle physics

Because nobody knows what the mass of a Higgs boson might be, the particle must be hunted indirectly, typically in giant machines that propel particles to near-light speed, then smash them together and generate an array of other subatomic particles.

WSJ: Physicists Find Signs of Higgs Boson, or 'God Particle'

The search for Higgs got its biggest boost in December when researchers at the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, near Geneva, Switzerland, said that data from two independent experiments had narrowed the range of the would-be particle's likely mass to between 124 and 126 gigaelectronvolts, or GeV.

WSJ: Physicists Find Signs of Higgs Boson, or 'God Particle'

Certain particles will attract larger clusters of Higgs bosons -- and the more Higgs bosons a particle attracts, the greater its mass will be.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS