Abstract
Chapter 8 deals with the apparent perching of the physical vacuum state in the universe on the edge between stability and meta-stability, at least within the standard model, in light of the mass of the recently discovered Higgs boson. Standard model calculations mapping vacuum stability as a function of Higgs boson and top quark masses are presented. The dramatic unveiling of the Higgs boson signal by the enormous detectors at the Large Hadron Collider is reviewed. Possible interpretations and implications of meta-stability, including unlikely doomsday scenarios, are discussed. The hierarchy problem is presented as a theoretical conundrum arising from the vast gap between the Higgs boson mass and the Planck mass scale at which an as-yet undeveloped theory of quantum gravity becomes essential. Various speculative theoretical approaches, including supersymmetry, to physics beyond the standard model that might address the hierarchy problem and other outstanding particle physics mysteries are mentioned.
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