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
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for Gluino-Mediated Bottom Squark Production in pp[over ] Collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with Z ? l + l - using the matrix element method at CDF II
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Measurement of W-boson helicity fractions in top-quark decays using cos ? *
in Physics Letters B
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Measurement of the b -hadron production cross section using decays to µ - D 0 X final states in p p ¯ collisions at s = 1.96 TeV
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for the neutral current top quark decay t ? Z c using the ratio of Z -boson + 4 jets to W -boson + 4 jets production
in Physical Review D
Collaboration T
(2009)
Measurement of beauty production from dimuon events at HERA
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Chekanov S
(2009)
Exclusive photoproduction of ? mesons at HERA
in Physics Letters B
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for hadronic decays of W and Z bosons in photon events in p p ¯ collisions at s = 1.96 TeV
in Physical Review D
Osprey S
(2009)
Sudden stratospheric warmings seen in MINOS deep underground muon data
in Geophysical Research Letters
Collaboration Z
(2009)
Measurement of beauty photoproduction using decays into muons in dijet events at HERA
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Chekanov S
(2009)
Measurement of charm and beauty production in deep inelastic ep scattering from decays into muons at HERA
in The European Physical Journal C
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Measurement of the top quark mass using the invariant mass of lepton pairs in soft muon b -tagged events
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
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Production of ? ( 2 S ) mesons in p p ¯ collisions at 1.96 TeV
in Physical Review D
Butterworth JM
(2009)
Discovering baryon-number violating neutralino decays at the LHC.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Observation of exclusive charmonium production and gammagamma --> micro;{+}micro;{-} in pp[over] collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aad, G. And Others
(2009)
Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics
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
Chekanov S
(2009)
Measurement of D ± and D 0 production in deep inelastic scattering using a lifetime tag at HERA
in The European Physical Journal C
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Measurement of the k(T) distribution of particles in jets produced in pp 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
(2009)
Measurement of cross sections for b jet production in events with a Z boson in p p ¯ collisions at s = 1.96 TeV
in Physical Review D
Chekanov S
(2009)
Search for events with an isolated lepton and missing transverse momentum and a measurement of W production at HERA
in Physics Letters B
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
Aaltonen T
(2009)
First Observation of Vector Boson Pairs in a Hadronic Final State at the Tevatron Collider
in Physical Review Letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for new physics in the µ µ + e / µ + E? T channel with a low- p T lepton threshold at the Collider Detector at Fermilab
in Physical Review D
Chekanov S
(2009)
Measurement of the longitudinal proton structure function at HERA
in Physics Letters B
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for narrow resonances lighter than ? mesons
in The European Physical Journal C
Argyriades J
(2009)
Measurement of the background in the NEMO 3 double beta decay experiment
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Measurement of particle production and inclusive differential cross sections in p p ¯ collisions at s = 1.96 TeV
in Physical Review D
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
(2009)
Measurement of the t t ¯ cross section in p p ¯ collisions at s = 1.96 TeV using dilepton events with a lepton plus track selection
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Global search for new physics with 2.0 fb - 1 at CDF
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for the Associated Production of the Standard-Model Higgs Boson in the All-Hadronic Channel
in Physical Review Letters
Chekanov S
(2009)
Measurement of high-Q 2 neutral current deep inelastic e - p scattering cross sections with a longitudinally polarised electron beam at HERA
in The European Physical Journal C
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for standard model Higgs boson production in association with a W boson using a neural network discriminant at CDF
in Physical Review D
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)
Search for long-lived massive charged particles in 1.96 TeV pp collisions.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Measurement of resonance parameters of orbitally excited narrow B0 mesons.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for top-quark production via flavor-changing neutral currents in W+1 jet events at CDF.
in Physical review letters
Argyriades J
(2009)
Measurement of the double- ß decay half-life of Nd 150 and search for neutrinoless decay modes with the NEMO-3 detector
in Physical Review C
Chekanov S
(2009)
Subjet distributions in deep inelastic scattering at HERA
in The European Physical Journal C
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross section in p p ¯ collisions at s = 1.96 TeV using the CDF detector
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2009)
Search for exclusive Z-boson production and observation of high-mass pp[over ]-->pgammagammap[over ]-->pl;{+}l;{-}p[over ] events in pp[over ] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Abramowicz H
(2012)
Angular correlations in three-jet events in e p collisions at HERA
in Physical Review D
Arnold R
(2016)
Measurement of the double-beta decay half-life and search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of Ca 48 with the NEMO-3 detector
in Physical Review D
Arnold R
(2016)
Measurement of the 2 ? ß ß decay half-life of Nd 150 and a search for 0 ? ß ß decay processes with the full exposure from the NEMO-3 detector
in Physical Review D
Aaboud M
(2017)
Jet energy scale measurements and their systematic uncertainties in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Aaboud M
(2017)
Search for squarks and gluinos in events with an isolated lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Aaboud M
(2017)
Measurements of electroweak [Formula: see text] production and constraints on anomalous gauge couplings with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
| 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 |