Experimental High Energy Particle Physics Research at UCL
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Experimental particle physics is about looking at extremely small sizes, or equivalently extremely high energies. It teaches us about the underlying nature of the physical universe, and the forces and laws that govern its development, from the first moments of the big bang, through to the present day, and far into the future. Particle physics has led to many revolutionary ideas, which have had a profound impact upon the way we think about ourselves and the world. One reason for the power of these ideas is that they are grounded in and tested by actual scientific observations of the world around us - that is, experiment. Without experiment, science is dead. Experiments capable of reaching these extremes of energy and size are very technically challenging. The challenges include devising precision detectors which can operate in hostile environments, particle accelerators which can achieve high energy collisions, super-sensitive detectors capable of identifying very rare decays with very small 'background noise', high-speed electronics which can read out millions of pieces of information per second, and robust, flexible software which can analyse the data in a distributed computing system all over the world. Thus another consequence of an active particle physics activity is a stimulation of technological developments and the training of people skilled in the development and use of high technology. This is a 'rolling grant', which means that it covers a broad variety of particle physics experiments. The rolling grant underpins the base of highly skilled research and technical staff which makes UCL able to be a leader in experimental physics at the very highest levels. It provides a measure of career security, as well as travel and equipment money. This also allows the group to function effectively in the training of PhD students, and we are in fact bidding to fund several PhD students on this grant. The science this grant will support includes: - Analysis of electron-proton collisions using the ZEUS detector at the HERA collider in Hamburg, which is telling us more and more about the internal structure of the proton and the photon, and about the strong nuclear force which holds the proton together. - Analysis of proton-antiproton collisions with the CDF detector at the Tevatron collider in Chicago, where precision measurements of the W boson (which carries the weak nuclear force), studies of the super-heavy top quark, and a search for the Higgs boson are underway. - Analysis of neutrino oscillations from the MINOS experiment in Chicago. The mysterious neutrino was once thought to be massless but is now known to have mass - MINOS will make the most precise measurement of the mixing between the different 'flavours' of neutrino. - Commisioning of the ATLAS detector at CERN, and analysis of the first date from the LHC. The LHC is the first collider to operate above the 'energy horizon' above which the weak and electromagentic forces are unified. As well as the Higgs, the LHC may find supersymmetry, extra spatial dimensions, or other exotica we have not even imagined. - Analysis of data from the NEMO-III experiment, a super-sensitive detector under a mountain in France searching for 'neutrinoless double beta decay'. If found, this rare process would not only provide the best measurement by far of the neutrino's mass, but would also prove that unlike all other particles, the neutrino is its own antiparticle. If true, this would give a big clue to physics at the 'grand unification' scale, where all forces are (perhaps!) unified. We also have other neutrino projects, work on the proposed international linear collider, and some theoretical activities, all largely funded on other grants. These projects benefit greatly from being co-sited with the rolling grant. All these projects contribute to the intellectually exciting environment that is UCL high energy physics.
Publications
Collaboration Z
(2009)
A measurement of the Q 2 , W and t dependences of deeply virtual Compton scattering at HERA
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Aaboud M
(2018)
A search for pair-produced resonances in four-jet final states at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Aaboud M
(2018)
A search for resonances decaying into a Higgs boson and a new particle X in the XH?qqbb final state with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Abulencia A
(2006)
A search for t ? t ? q in t t ¯ production
in Physics Letters B
Abulencia A
(2007)
Analysis of the quantum numbers J(PC) of the X(3872) particle.
in Physical review letters
Aaboud M
(2017)
Analysis of the Wtb vertex from the measurement of triple-differential angular decay rates of single top quarks produced in the t-channel at s = 8 $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Abramowicz H
(2012)
Angular correlations in three-jet events in e p collisions at HERA
in Physical Review D
Chekanov S
(2008)
Beauty photoproduction using decays into electrons at HERA
in Physical Review D
Buckley A
(2008)
CEDAR: progress and status report
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Adamson P
(2007)
Charge-separated atmospheric neutrino-induced muons in the MINOS far detector
in Physical Review D
Cabrera A
(2009)
Comparisons of the MINOS near and far detector readout systems at a test beam
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Abulencia A
(2008)
Cross section measurements of high- p T dilepton final-state processes using a global fitting method
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2008)
Cross-section-constrained top-quark mass measurement from dilepton events at the Tevatron.
in Physical review letters
Chekanov S
(2008)
Deep inelastic inclusive and diffractive scattering at Q 2 values from 25 to 320 GeV2 with the ZEUS forward plug calorimeter
in Nuclear Physics B
Chekanov S
(2009)
Deep inelastic scattering with leading protons or large rapidity gaps at HERA
in Nuclear Physics B
Collaboration T
(2008)
Design and electronics commissioning of the physics prototype of a Si-W electromagnetic calorimeter for the International Linear Collider
in Journal of Instrumentation
Aaboud M
(2017)
Determination of the strong coupling constant a s from transverse energy-energy correlations in multijet events at s = 8 TeV using the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Chekanov S
(2007)
Diffractive photoproduction of D*±(2010) at HERA
in The European Physical Journal C
Chekanov S
(2008)
Diffractive photoproduction of dijets in ep collisions at HERA
in The European Physical Journal C
Chekanov S
(2007)
Dijet production in diffractive deep inelastic scattering at HERA
in The European Physical Journal C
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Direct bound on the total decay width of the top quark in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2008)
Direct Measurement of the W Boson Width in p p ¯ Collisions at s = 1.96 TeV
in Physical Review Letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Direct Measurement of the W Production Charge Asymmetry in p p ¯ Collisions at s = 1.96 TeV
in Physical Review Letters
Abulencia A
(2006)
Direct search for Dirac magnetic monopoles in pp collisions at square root s = 1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aaboud M
(2018)
Direct top-quark decay width measurement in the t t ¯ lepton+jets channel at s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Butterworth JM
(2009)
Discovering baryon-number violating neutralino decays at the LHC.
in Physical review letters
Collaboration T
(2008)
Energy dependence of the charged multiplicity in deep inelastic scattering at HERA
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Chekanov S
(2007)
Event shapes in deep inelastic scattering at HERA
in Nuclear Physics B
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Evidence for a narrow near-threshold structure in the J/psivarphi mass spectrum in B;{+} --> J/psivarphiK;{+} decays.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2008)
Evidence for D0-D(0) mixing using the CDF II detector.
in Physical review letters
Aaboud M
(2018)
Evidence for the associated production of the Higgs boson and a top quark pair with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Abulencia A
(2006)
Evidence for the exclusive decay B(c)+- --> J/psi pi+- and measurement of the mass of the B(c)+- meson.
in Physical review letters
Aaboud M
(2017)
Evidence for the H ? b b ¯ $$ H\to b\overline{b} $$ decay with the ATLAS detector
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Chekanov S
(2009)
Exclusive photoproduction of ? mesons at HERA
in Physics Letters B
Aad, G. And Others
(2009)
Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics
Aaboud M
(2017)
Fiducial, total and differential cross-section measurements of t-channel single top-quark production in pp collisions at 8 TeV using data collected by the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Aaltonen T
(2008)
First flavor-tagged determination of bounds on mixing-induced CP violation in Bs0 --> J/psiphi decays.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2008)
First measurement of the fraction of top-quark pair production through gluon-gluon fusion
in Physical Review D
Monrozeau C
(2008)
First measurement of the giant monopole and quadrupole resonances in a short-lived nucleus: 56Ni.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
First measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B ( ? b 0 ? ? c + µ - ? ¯ µ ) / B ( ? b 0 ? ? c + p - )
in Physical Review D
Abulencia A
(2007)
First measurement of the ratio of central-electron to forward-electron W partial cross sections in pp[over] collisions at (square root)s =1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
First measurement of the tt[over ] differential cross section dsigma/dM_{tt[over ]} in pp[over ] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
First observation of B(s)(0) --> D(s)(+/-)K(-/+) and measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B(B(s)(0) --> D(s)(+/-)K(-/+)/B(B(s)(0) --> D(s)(+)pi(-)).
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2008)
First observation of the decay Bs0-->Ds-Ds+ and measurement of its branching ratio.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
First observation of vector boson pairs in a hadronic final state at the tevatron collider.
in Physical review letters
Adamson P
(2006)
First observations of separated atmospheric ? µ and ? ¯ µ events in the MINOS detector
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2008)
First run II measurement of the W boson mass at the Fermilab Tevatron
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2009)
First simultaneous measurement of the top quark mass in the lepton + jets and dilepton channels at CDF
in Physical Review D
Chekanov S
(2006)
Forward jet production in deep inelastic ep scattering and low-x parton dynamics at HERA
in Physics Letters B
Aaltonen T
(2008)
Forward-backward asymmetry in top-quark production in pp[over] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
| Description | CERN/ATLANTIS |
| Amount | £24,945 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
| Department | ATLAS Collaboration |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Start | 04/2007 |
| End | 11/2007 |
| Description | CERN/MCNet |
| Amount | £271,986 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Start | 01/2007 |
| End | 12/2010 |
| Description | CERN/RTT |
| Amount | £45,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
| Department | ATLAS Collaboration |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Start | 03/2007 |
| End | 03/2008 |
| Description | DESY/Guest Scientist |
| Amount | £34,930 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Deutsches Electronen-Synchrotron (DESY) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 06/2007 |
| End | 06/2009 |
| Description | DESY/ZEUS Studentship |
| Amount | £41,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Deutsches Electronen-Synchrotron (DESY) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 09/2005 |
| End | 09/2008 |
| Description | DSTL/ACORNE Studentship |
| Amount | £12,930 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2006 |
| End | 03/2009 |
| Description | EPSRC/ESLEA |
| Amount | £134,810 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2005 |
| End | 01/2007 |
| Description | EU/ARTEMIS |
| Amount | £228,960 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 42051 |
| Organisation | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Spain |
| Start | 09/2006 |
| End | 09/2010 |
| Description | EU/EUDET |
| Amount | £194,229 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 26126 |
| Organisation | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Spain |
| Start | 01/2006 |
| End | 12/2009 |
| Description | Humboldt/Research Fellowship |
| Amount | £19,687 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Alexander von Humboldt Foundation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 02/2008 |
| End | 01/2009 |
| Description | Nuffield/Precise determination of beam energies at an ILC |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2005 |
| End | 04/2007 |
| Description | RS URF/Higgs Physics at ATLAS |
| Amount | £244,218 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2008 |
| End | 09/2013 |
| Description | RS URF/QCD Phenomenology |
| Amount | £30,171 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2006 |
| End | 05/2008 |
| Description | RS/UHE Neutrinos |
| Amount | £121,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2007 |
| End | 05/2009 |
| Description | ARTEMIS |
| Organisation | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Training |
| Collaborator Contribution | Training |
| Impact | PhDs |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Title | Scintillators |
| Description | High resolution scintillators developed with ELJEN for SuperNEMO Scintillators |
| Type Of Technology | Detection Devices |
| Year Produced | 2008 |
| Impact | Has potential application in precise energy measurement for proton cancer therapy. |
| Description | Articles in National Press |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Again too numerous too itemize: articles/quotes etc for Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Scotsman, Evening Standard, THES etc . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | IoP Physics in Perspective |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Three talks each with other 250 school students . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007,2009,2011 |
| Description | Podcasts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Again several of these for several organisations. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | SET Parliament Session |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Poster Presentation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | MPs attended . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006 |
| Description | School Visits / Schoolchildren mentoring |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | These ate too numerous to create individual entries for. Our activities have ranged from talks in lessons, assemblies, career days, lab sessions. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013 |
| Description | Short Films: Colliding Particles |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Series of short films about the background to Higgs discovery Online films |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012 |
| Description | TV/Radio appearances |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Too numerous to list individually but we have made appearances on BBC1,BBC2, ITV, C4, Al Jazeera, Sky News, GMTV, News-24, Classic FM, Capital Radio, BBC R4. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013 |