60 years of Broken Symmetries in Quantum Physics (From the Bogoliubov Theory of Superfluidity to the Standard Model)

Abstract

A retrospective historical overview of the phenomenon of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in quantum theory, the issue that has been implemented in particle physics in the form of the Higgs mechanism. The main items are: -- The Bogoliubov's microscopical theory of superfluidity (1946); -- The BCS-Bogoliubov theory of superconductivity (1957); -- Superconductivity as a superfluidity of Cooper pairs (Bogoliubov - 1958); -- Transfer of the SSB into the QFT models (early 60s); -- The Higgs model triumph in the electro-weak theory (early 80s). The role of the Higgs mechanism and its status in the current Standard Model is also touched upon.

Comments: 18 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physics -- Uspekhi, June 2009. Two figures are upgraded and small text modifications with few new references are made