The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 at CERN completed the experimental confirmation of the Standard Model particle spectrum. Current theoretical insights and experimental data are inconclusive concerning the expectation of future discoveries. While new physics may still be within reach of the LHC or one of its successor experiments, it is also possible that the mass of particles beyond those of the Standard Model is far beyond the energy reach of any conceivable particle collider. We thus have to face the possibility that the age of “on-shell discoveries” of new particles may belong to the past and that we may soon witness a change in the scientists' perception of discoveries in fundamental physics. This article discusses the relevance of this questioning and addresses some of its potential far-reaching implications through the development, first, of a historical perspective on the concept of particle. This view is prompt to reveal important specificities of the development of particle physics. In particular, it underlines the close relationship between the evolution of observational methods and the understanding of the very idea of particle. Combining this with an analysis of the current situation of high-energy physics, this leads us to the suggestion that the particle era in science must undergo an important conceptual reconfiguration.

2012年欧洲核子研究组织希格斯玻色子的发现完成了标准模型粒子谱的实验确认。目前的理论见解和实验数据对于未来发现的预期尚无定论。虽然大型强子对撞机或其后续实验之一仍可能实现新的物理学，但超出标准模型的粒子质量也有可能远远超出任何可想象的粒子对撞机的能量范围。因此，我们必须面对这样一种可能性：新粒子的“壳内发现”时代可能已经成为过去，我们可能很快就会见证科学家对基础物理学发现的看法发生变化。本文讨论了这一质疑的相关性，并首先通过发展粒子概念的历史视角来探讨其一些潜在的深远影响。这种观点迅速揭示了粒子物理学发展的重要特殊性。特别是，它强调了观测方法的演变与对粒子概念的理解之间的密切关系。结合对高能物理现状的分析，我们认为科学中的粒子时代必须进行一次重要的概念重构。