CERN Turns to Dark Matter After Higgs Discovery as India Strengthens Its Role in the Search, Here's How

The discovery of the Higgs boson answered a major question about how particles acquire mass. Now CERN is turning its attention to dark matter, one of the biggest unsolved problems in modern physics.

From the ‘God Particle’ to Dark Matter

The discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN in 2012 was a landmark moment in particle physics. The particle, popularly called the “God Particle”, confirmed the existence of the Higgs field, a mechanism that explains how fundamental particles acquire mass.

The discovery also completed the Standard Model of particle physics, the framework scientists use to describe the fundamental particles and forces that make up the known universe.

But the Higgs discovery did not provide answers to every question about the universe. For CERN, it opened the door to a much broader search for phenomena that the Standard Model cannot explain.

One of the biggest questions now concerns dark matter.

CERN Director General Dr Mark Thomson said the Higgs boson itself still requires extensive study because its properties remain unusual and not fully understood.

“We want to really understand this strange object we've discovered,” Thomson told NDTV, stressing that scientists want to investigate the particle in far greater detail.

LHC Gets a Major Upgrade

That research will receive a major boost from the next generation of the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC.

The LHC is housed inside a 27-kilometre circular tunnel beneath the Swiss-French border, with parts of the machine almost 100 metres underground. It is the world's most powerful particle accelerator and one of the most complex scientific machines ever constructed.

The collider is currently shut down for a major upgrade.

Around 1.2 kilometres of critical magnets are being replaced with newer technology, while the particle detectors are also being upgraded. The revamped facility will operate as the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider.

The upgraded machine is designed to generate roughly ten times more collision data than the existing LHC.

For scientists, that increase is not simply about producing more collisions. More collisions mean more opportunities to observe extremely rare events and identify patterns that could point towards previously unknown particles or forces.

The upgraded detectors will use advanced silicon technologies, while increasingly sophisticated computing systems will be needed to process the enormous volume of information produced by the experiments.

The central objective is to examine the Higgs boson with much greater precision and search for evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model.

Why Dark Matter Is Such a Big Mystery

Everything that can be directly observed — from stars and planets to galaxies and human beings — makes up only around five per cent of the universe.

Scientists estimate that roughly 27 per cent is dark matter. Most of the remainder is attributed to dark energy, which is linked to the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Dark matter is fundamentally different from ordinary matter because it does not emit or reflect light. That makes it invisible to conventional telescopes.

Scientists know it exists because of the gravitational influence it appears to exert on visible matter.

For example, the motion of stars and galaxies cannot be fully explained by the amount of visible matter scientists can observe. The gravitational effects point towards the presence of additional unseen matter.

Yet after decades of research, scientists still do not know what dark matter is made of.

“We know it's there, but we don't know what it is,” Thomson said.

There are several theories about possible dark matter particles. Some of those particles could potentially be produced in high-energy collisions at the upgraded LHC.

LHC Has Looked for Dark Matter Before

The search for dark matter is not new at CERN.

Experiments at the LHC have already looked for signals that could indicate the presence of dark matter or particles associated with it. So far, however, no direct evidence has been found.

That makes the High-Luminosity LHC particularly significant.

A tenfold increase in collision data could allow researchers to examine rare processes that were previously difficult or impossible to study with sufficient precision.

It could also help scientists eliminate competing theories and identify unexpected signals.

The aim is not simply to confirm a particular dark matter theory. Scientists are also looking for results that do not fit existing models, because such anomalies could point towards entirely new physics.

What Comes After the Higgs?

The questions surrounding CERN have expanded considerably since the LHC began operating.

In its early years, the collider attracted public concern over claims that its powerful particle collisions might create microscopic black holes capable of destroying Earth.

Physicists rejected those fears, pointing out that even hypothetical microscopic black holes would disappear almost immediately. They also noted that cosmic rays naturally produce collisions at energies higher than those generated by the LHC when they strike Earth's atmosphere.

Today, the scientific debate has moved far beyond those early fears.

Researchers are examining the nature of matter, antimatter, dark matter and the fundamental laws governing the universe.

CERN's Antimatter Experiments

Antimatter is another major area of research at CERN.

Earlier in 2026, researchers demonstrated that a small quantity of trapped antimatter could be transported across the laboratory campus. The experiment involved just 92 antiprotons and was described as a proof of principle.

Antimatter is produced when high-energy collisions create particle-antiparticle pairs. Antiprotons can then be isolated, slowed down and trapped using electromagnetic fields.

Being able to transport trapped antimatter could eventually allow scientists to conduct experiments in different locations with greater precision.

One major objective is to study antihydrogen and determine whether antimatter behaves exactly like ordinary matter.

If scientists find even a subtle difference, it could have major implications for understanding one of the universe's deepest puzzles: why the observable universe contains vastly more matter than antimatter.

According to current physics, matter and antimatter should have been produced in roughly comparable quantities during the early universe. Yet the universe we see today is overwhelmingly dominated by matter.

Understanding that imbalance remains an open question.

India Has a Deep Connection With CERN

India's role in CERN's scientific programme is substantial and dates back decades.

Indian scientists have been associated with CERN since the 1960s, long before India's present relationship with the organisation took shape.

Today, around 300 Indian scientists collaborate with CERN and contribute to major experiments.

India's involvement extends beyond participation in experiments. Indian scientists and engineers have contributed to detector technologies, technical systems and other components supporting particle physics research.

During his recent visit to India, Thomson highlighted the country's scientific and engineering expertise.

He said CERN greatly values the contributions coming from Indian researchers and institutions.

The relationship also provides Indian researchers with opportunities to work alongside scientists from across the world and gain experience with some of the most advanced experimental facilities in existence.

Dr Archana Sharma's Link With CERN

One of the prominent figures connecting India with CERN is Dr Archana Sharma.

Born in Jhansi, Sharma has spent decades working on collaborations involving Indian institutions and CERN. She has also played a role in mentoring younger researchers.

Her career illustrates the long-term connection between Indian scientific institutions and CERN and the opportunities available to researchers working across national borders.

Thomson has also emphasised the importance of younger scientists to CERN's future.

“The most valuable contributions to CERN come from young, smart people,” he said, extending an invitation to younger generations of researchers.

“Gen Z, Gen Alpha, all of them, welcome.”

For India, that message comes as the country expands its scientific capabilities and produces a growing pool of researchers working in advanced areas of physics and engineering.

Why Nataraja Stands at CERN

There is also a distinctly Indian symbol at the CERN campus.

A bronze statue of Nataraja, the dancing form of Lord Shiva, was presented to CERN by India.

The statue represents the cosmic dance of creation and destruction. At CERN, it has taken on an unusual scientific and cultural significance because the image reflects ideas of transformation and continual change.

Thomson described the statue as a metaphor for the nature of the universe.

Its presence represents an intersection between India's ancient philosophical traditions and the modern scientific effort to understand matter, energy and the structure of the universe.

CERN Is Already Planning a Bigger Collider

The High-Luminosity LHC is not necessarily the end of CERN's ambitions.

The organisation is developing plans for the Future Circular Collider, or FCC, a proposed underground accelerator with a circumference of about 91 kilometres.

That would make it more than three times as large as the existing LHC.

The proposed first stage would collide electrons and positrons instead of protons. Such collisions could provide a cleaner environment for highly precise measurements of the Higgs boson and other fundamental particles.

A later stage could involve even higher-energy collisions and extend the search for physics beyond the Standard Model.

The proposed project is intended as a long-term scientific facility that could shape particle physics research for decades.

The Biggest Questions Are Still Unanswered

The Higgs boson solved one major problem in physics, but it did not complete humanity's understanding of the universe.

Dark matter remains unidentified.

Dark energy, which appears to drive the accelerated expansion of the universe, is still poorly understood.

Scientists also have no complete explanation for the imbalance between matter and antimatter.

The High-Luminosity LHC will give researchers a much larger body of experimental data with which to test existing theories and search for new particles.

Antimatter experiments could challenge some of the deepest assumptions about how the laws of nature operate.

And if the Future Circular Collider is eventually built, CERN could gain an even more powerful tool for investigating the fundamental structure of reality.

For now, one of the simplest questions remains among the hardest to answer: what exactly is dark matter?

Scientists know that something is there.

They can see its gravitational effects.

But they still cannot see the substance itself — or say with certainty what it is made of.

The next phase of CERN's research is aimed at changing that. And Indian scientists, engineers and young researchers are set to remain part of the search.