Experimental Particle Physics: Equipment Request to the STFC Particle Physics Grants Panel: Addendum to the Consolidated Grant Award (ST/K001205/1)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The three-year timescale is particularly exciting with the Higgs discovery at the LHC and the opening
of a new energy frontier as part of the upgrade programme: we will focus our efforts on Higgs analysis, discovery and interpretation, and the search for new physics in CP violation and rare B decays. Improved analysis techniques, well-calibrated detectors, increased computing power and theoretical input will be essential and we are at the forefront of the required developments in these areas.
All academics are heavily involved in the LHC programme and our strategy is to generate leading-edge physics results from two experiments (ATLAS and LHCb) based upon expertise developed in those experiments as well as from CDF. We will provide timely first results in the Higgs discovery area for ATLAS, based upon our current expertise. Having secured high-quality completion on CDF, where we set earlier limits in the Higgs analyses, we will ensure that this experience will underpin future ATLAS publications. Based on our earlier work, we will be key players in answering questions concerning the origin of mass and the nature of CP violation. For LHCb, we will discover rare two body B decays, search for CP violation in charm and make precison measurements of CP violaton in the Bs sector with early data samples.
In the longer term we will measure the CKM angle gamma from loop-mediated processes which offer significant new physics sensitivity. We continue to invest in and promote a world-class Detector Development activity to enable longer-term initiatives and our Grid strength is aimed at maximising our impact in LHC physics as well as promoting new areas such as NA62 and the linear collider. We additionally lever support through Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the College in these areas. We have set up physics analysis streams for ATLAS and LHCb, using the Grid, and will continue to fully exploit the 2011-12
LHC data. We will also maintain our involvement in longer-term initiatives where we have leadership roles. We presently participate in the LHCb upgrade, the ATLAS-FP initiative, the super-LHC intensity upgrades, ILC and future neutrino initiatives. We anticipate greater involvement in work, based upon the discoveries made at the LHC. Over the next three years we will develop these areas and progress those where early investment will become most productive, consistent with the highest priority of LHC physics exploitation.
To enhance the priority programme, we will gain through the second phase of SUPA. This will ensure that we can meet our priorities in silicon detector development via substantial funding in support of the LHC upgrade programme, known as SUPA-LHC. We have invested £800k in equipment, shared equally with the IGR where we gain from joint facilities. This strategy is well suited to the skills and capacity of our core group. We believe the associated additional effort will be essential at a critical point in the evolution of UK particle physics.
of a new energy frontier as part of the upgrade programme: we will focus our efforts on Higgs analysis, discovery and interpretation, and the search for new physics in CP violation and rare B decays. Improved analysis techniques, well-calibrated detectors, increased computing power and theoretical input will be essential and we are at the forefront of the required developments in these areas.
All academics are heavily involved in the LHC programme and our strategy is to generate leading-edge physics results from two experiments (ATLAS and LHCb) based upon expertise developed in those experiments as well as from CDF. We will provide timely first results in the Higgs discovery area for ATLAS, based upon our current expertise. Having secured high-quality completion on CDF, where we set earlier limits in the Higgs analyses, we will ensure that this experience will underpin future ATLAS publications. Based on our earlier work, we will be key players in answering questions concerning the origin of mass and the nature of CP violation. For LHCb, we will discover rare two body B decays, search for CP violation in charm and make precison measurements of CP violaton in the Bs sector with early data samples.
In the longer term we will measure the CKM angle gamma from loop-mediated processes which offer significant new physics sensitivity. We continue to invest in and promote a world-class Detector Development activity to enable longer-term initiatives and our Grid strength is aimed at maximising our impact in LHC physics as well as promoting new areas such as NA62 and the linear collider. We additionally lever support through Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the College in these areas. We have set up physics analysis streams for ATLAS and LHCb, using the Grid, and will continue to fully exploit the 2011-12
LHC data. We will also maintain our involvement in longer-term initiatives where we have leadership roles. We presently participate in the LHCb upgrade, the ATLAS-FP initiative, the super-LHC intensity upgrades, ILC and future neutrino initiatives. We anticipate greater involvement in work, based upon the discoveries made at the LHC. Over the next three years we will develop these areas and progress those where early investment will become most productive, consistent with the highest priority of LHC physics exploitation.
To enhance the priority programme, we will gain through the second phase of SUPA. This will ensure that we can meet our priorities in silicon detector development via substantial funding in support of the LHC upgrade programme, known as SUPA-LHC. We have invested £800k in equipment, shared equally with the IGR where we gain from joint facilities. This strategy is well suited to the skills and capacity of our core group. We believe the associated additional effort will be essential at a critical point in the evolution of UK particle physics.
Planned Impact
Knowledge Exchange (KE) activities have always occupied a crucial place in the strategy of the group. These manifest themselves most obviously in the activities undertaken by Detector Development and the Grid where there is potential for greater industrial engagement. This engagement with KE enables additional funding streams for activities that both deploy technology developed for particle physics and also promote and develop technology and skills that will be required for the design and build of upgrades and future experiments. This leveraged funding benefits all parties involved and especially helps the particle physics agenda through providing measurable impact for societal good - a singularly difficult thing to
achieve in the area of blue skies scientific research. The group has maintained a very high level of KE activity throughout the reporting period and intends to grow this further in the future. The expertise on pixel detectors built up by the group through its long-standing Medipix activity helps us to play a leading role in the move in the UK to become involved in future pixel programs for HEP. This has been recognised
through the recent award of a PRD grant for the development of pixel detectors for the LHC.
The Medipix activity provides a bridgehead for the group to create impact through the generation of new ideas and novel methods to measure a variety of phenomena that are of commercial interest.
The detector group has participated in 4 EU framework projects over the last decade and worked with a variety of UK and European industries (e.g. Acreo, Applied Scintillation Technologies, Canberra, Kromek, Oxford Instruments, Photek, Panalytical, SensL and VTT). It has been working on a PIPSS funded project with Kromek (a spin-out from Durham University) to develop wafer scale CZT processes and the company is currently in negotiation with the University to set up an industrially sponsored research centre in the School to carry out research on radiation imaging detector systems that are focused upon more immediate industrial applications.
The GridPP project, led from the University of Glasgow, provides another pathway to impact that has been very successful. Despite a focus on Particle Physics, GridPP also supports many other disciplines and negotiated the donation of ten FDTD Solutions Engine licenses to ScotGrid by Vancouver-based Lumerical Solutions to the benefit of researchers who use our Grid from the field of photonics. GridPP has had close relationships with several large computer manufactures such as IBM, SuperMicro, and more recently DELL computers, which has included testing new prototype products (lately, Interlargos-based PC's) and new technologies (SSDs and GPUs) in real-life environments. Beyond wealth-creation, GridPP has had impact on "Quality of Life" issues by supporting biomedical research VO searches for new drugs against diseases such as avian flu and malaria.
A further strand of our impact activities is our extensive work to inspire the public about particle physics and raise awareness of STFC science. We have been developing close links with Scottish physics teachers, providing CPD through the IOP Scottish network and consulting for the Scottish Government agency Education Scotland. Over the last three years, four hundred school pupils have visited the group for the Particle Physics Masterclass, and in 2011 we raised external funding to send ten pupils from areas identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation as having low
opportunities to CERN for three days, providing an experience that has the potential to be life-changing.
achieve in the area of blue skies scientific research. The group has maintained a very high level of KE activity throughout the reporting period and intends to grow this further in the future. The expertise on pixel detectors built up by the group through its long-standing Medipix activity helps us to play a leading role in the move in the UK to become involved in future pixel programs for HEP. This has been recognised
through the recent award of a PRD grant for the development of pixel detectors for the LHC.
The Medipix activity provides a bridgehead for the group to create impact through the generation of new ideas and novel methods to measure a variety of phenomena that are of commercial interest.
The detector group has participated in 4 EU framework projects over the last decade and worked with a variety of UK and European industries (e.g. Acreo, Applied Scintillation Technologies, Canberra, Kromek, Oxford Instruments, Photek, Panalytical, SensL and VTT). It has been working on a PIPSS funded project with Kromek (a spin-out from Durham University) to develop wafer scale CZT processes and the company is currently in negotiation with the University to set up an industrially sponsored research centre in the School to carry out research on radiation imaging detector systems that are focused upon more immediate industrial applications.
The GridPP project, led from the University of Glasgow, provides another pathway to impact that has been very successful. Despite a focus on Particle Physics, GridPP also supports many other disciplines and negotiated the donation of ten FDTD Solutions Engine licenses to ScotGrid by Vancouver-based Lumerical Solutions to the benefit of researchers who use our Grid from the field of photonics. GridPP has had close relationships with several large computer manufactures such as IBM, SuperMicro, and more recently DELL computers, which has included testing new prototype products (lately, Interlargos-based PC's) and new technologies (SSDs and GPUs) in real-life environments. Beyond wealth-creation, GridPP has had impact on "Quality of Life" issues by supporting biomedical research VO searches for new drugs against diseases such as avian flu and malaria.
A further strand of our impact activities is our extensive work to inspire the public about particle physics and raise awareness of STFC science. We have been developing close links with Scottish physics teachers, providing CPD through the IOP Scottish network and consulting for the Scottish Government agency Education Scotland. Over the last three years, four hundred school pupils have visited the group for the Particle Physics Masterclass, and in 2011 we raised external funding to send ten pupils from areas identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation as having low
opportunities to CERN for three days, providing an experience that has the potential to be life-changing.
Organisations
| Description | The creation of impact from the developments we undertake for HEP has always been a priority for the Glasgow PPE group, long before it was made a University priority through its inclusion as a parameter in the REF exercise. For the first time REF2014 included not only assessment of academic output but also the impact the research has had on the economy, society, public policy, culture and the quality of life. 100% of the School's impact was judged to be at least "internationally excellent", with 42% rated as "world-leading", placing the School 9th in the UK for Physics impact. The PPE group was responsible for the generation of an impact case based on Medipix technology. The continued promotion of technologies developed for Particle Physics for applications outside the field remains a strong priority for our group and is most evident in the Detector Development and GridPP activities. The key feature of our exploitation strategy is to use additional funding that we raise to support the transformation of research outcomes to commercial opportunities and industrial applications. The Detector Development group's focus on the development of pixel detector systems has resulted in the prominent involvement of group members in upgrade detectors for both ATLAS and LHCb. In addition to these core activities, the Medipix family of ASICS continues to prove a fruitful source of applications both within and outwith HEP. Glasgow University has recently signed licence agreements with Quantum Detectors and Kromek Group PLC to use IP developed by GU on the applications of Medipix technology. Negotiations are underway with Bruker on the use of Medipix for an EBSD (Electron Back Scattered Diffraction) camera where the technology offers breakthrough performance and the possibility to revolutionise the way that diffraction measurements are performed in electron microscopes. Bruker have taken a patent on aspects of this based on a recent publication from the group [arXiv:1607.05269]. The group has raised a large fraction of the funds required to join Medipix4 (250k CHF) and anticipates joining the collaboration in the coming year. This will enable us to take advantage of the innovations foreseen for the Medipix4 family of ASICs and continue to develop new and exciting applications in the pursuit of further impact generation. As part of the ATLAS Upgrade R&D the Glasgow group has been working Micron Semiconductor to develop pixel sensors for ATLAS with the aim of Micron supplying sensors for a pixel endcap and possibly other parts of the ATLAS pixel upgrade. This collaboration has allowed Micron to submit to the CERN Market Survey for the ATLAS pixel sensor order. The key developments have been the design and characterisation of a 50x50 ?m2 pixel sensor and under bump metalisation. The ATLAS group is collaborating with ZOT Ltd on the design and manufacture of a flexible hybrid for pixel modules and it is hoped that this will allow ZOT to compete for the supply of the ATLAS pixel endcap and possibly other parts of the LHC upgrade projects. Similarly, the LHCb group collaborates with ZOT on the design and manufacture of the flexible and vacuum compatible electrical high-speed links and the on-detector electronics boards for the VELO upgrade. The group has obtained STFC IAA funding to develop next generation semiconductor probe needles in collaboration with PTSL (a UK probe card company) and Archer Technicoat Ltd (a UK CVD materials company), which builds on STFC IPS funding. We are presently in discussion with IPGroup (the GU preferred venture capital group) to explore taking the work to a commercial stage. The group also has demonstrable impact in culture where group members are Scientific Advisors on the Antonine Wall Distance Slabs Research project. The project works with Historic Environment Scotland and History of Art and Archaeology Departments in the University of Glasgow. We are applying our knowledge of X-ray detectors for X-ray fluorescence measurements of Roman Period Stones from the Antonine Wall for identification of original paint colours. In addition we are using analytical techniques from particle physics to extract characteristic element peaks from XRF spectra with high background noise. The GridPP project, led from the University of Glasgow, provides another successful pathway. Despite a focus on Particle Physics, GridPP also supports many other disciplines, both as a production system and as an incubator for groups who will ultimately develop their own infrastructure. GridPP is a core founding member of the UKT0 alliance in the UK that brings together existing STFC infrastructures (GridPP, DIRAC, SCD, JASMIN, etc) and user groups within the broader STFC science domain, many of whom do not currently have a viable e-infrastructure. The strategic importance of UKT0 has already enabled seed funding (£1.5m) and is now on the BEIS roadmap for significant support in future years that will benefit the whole stable of STFC supported science and facility users. More directly, GridPP is working closely with SKA as they develop their computing strategy to cope with data volumes that will rival the LHC by the mid 2020s. Beyond STFC science, GridPP continues to support a number of organisations such as the BioMed community (with whom GridPP has just agreed an SLA to be acknowledged in their publications) and the CERN@school organisation that brings the power of the Worldwide LHC computing Grid into classrooms across the UK. The associated Virtual Organisation (VO) - cernatschool.org - has proven useful as a "technology demonstrator" VO for GridPP's User Engagement toolkit. The tools have successfully been used to store and access data from the school-based Timepix detectors and generate Monte Carlo simulations of the Langton Ultimate Cosmic ray Intensity Detector (LUCID) experiment's satellite-based detectors. At a local level, GridPP continues to work with other groups such as the AHRC funded SAMUELS project that is examining the use and meaning of words in the Hansard parliamentary records (1803 to 2005). Enabling the researchers to use ScotGrid reduced their processing time from 2-3 years to 48 hours and a subsequent construction and hosting of a database was completed in an additional two months providing a key resource for this project. Finally, all investigators will play an active role in the generation of impact and knowledge exchange and will ensure that appropriate training is provided to all researchers associated with the group activities in the key aspects of communication, public engagement and our extensive teacher CPD programme, media engagement, intellectual property protection and commercial exploitation. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Education,Electronics,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Societal |