Higgs physics using tau leptons with the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC

It's possible that the 125 GeV Higgs boson discovered by the ATLAS and CMS Experiments is only one of several neutrally-charged Higgs bosons predicted by theories beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Many of these theories predict the existence of a more massive Higgs boson, H, that is able to decay into two lighter 125 GeV Higgs bosons. The student will develop analysis strategies to search for the production of two neutral 125 GeV Higgs bosons (H to hh), and then carry out these search strategies on the ATLAS proton-proton collision data. Searches will focus on a final state where one of the Higgs bosons decays into two tau leptons, and the second Higgs boson decays to a pair of bottom quarks. The student will use this same final state to explore the Higgs boson self-coupling (h to hh), one of the last unobserved predictions of the Standard Model . The student will participate in developing algorithms for tau lepton identification, and will also be expected to play a role in the production of silicon microstrip detector modules for the ATLAS Phase-II tracker Upgrade (ITk).