Theoretical Particle Physics Research
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Abstract
Our overall aim is to elucidate the nature of matter and its fundamental interactions via a variety of phenomenological and theoretical studies. Of crucial importance will be the new results coming from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The proposed research will improve our ability to predict the effects of the strong interactions (QCD) on the processes that will be studied at the LHC and develop efficient methods to determine the properties of any new states of matter discovered there. Both analytical and numerical methods will be used to study the properties of hadrons, strongly interacting bound states of quarks. Our research will seek to determine what lies beyond the Standard Model of the strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions, with the ultimate goal of providing a fully unified theory, including gravity. The most promising candidate theories will be studied, including Grand and superstring unification and theories with additional space dimensions. Laboratory, astrophysical and cosmological implications will be analysed to determine the most sensitive experimental tests of these theories. We hope these studies will lead to a complete understanding of the origin of mass, including an understanding of the quark, charged lepton and neutrino masses, mixing angles and CP violation, as well as of the nature of dark matter. In addition to having direct relevance to the LHC program, our research will have relevance to present and future neutrino and astroparticle experiments and to astrophysical and cosmological studies. In particular a concerted effort will be made to understand the nature of the dark matter and optimise strategies for detecting both direct and indirect signals. The implications of particle physics models for early universe processed such as inflation will also be studied.
Organisations
Publications
Abreu P
(2011)
The Pierre Auger Observatory IV: Operation and
Monitoring
Abreu P
(2011)
The Pierre Auger Observatory IV: Operation and Monitoring
Abreu P
(2012)
Description of atmospheric conditions at the Pierre Auger Observatory using the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS)
in Astroparticle Physics
Abreu P
(2012)
Measurement of the proton-air cross section at vs=57 TeV with the Pierre Auger Observatory.
in Physical review letters
Abreu P
(2012)
Antennas for the detection of radio emission pulses from cosmic-ray induced air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory
in Journal of Instrumentation
Abreu P
(2012)
SEARCH FOR POINT-LIKE SOURCES OF ULTRA-HIGH ENERGY NEUTRINOS AT THE PIERRE AUGER OBSERVATORY AND IMPROVED LIMIT ON THE DIFFUSE FLUX OF TAU NEUTRINOS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Acero F
(2017)
Prospects for Cherenkov Telescope Array Observations of the Young Supernova Remnant RX J1713.7-3946
in The Astrophysical Journal
Acharya B
(2013)
Introducing the CTA concept
in Astroparticle Physics
Acounis S
(2012)
Results of a self-triggered prototype system for radio-detection of extensive air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory
in Journal of Instrumentation
Actis M
(2011)
Design concepts for the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA: an advanced facility for ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy
in Experimental Astronomy
Adrián-Martínez S
(2016)
High-energy neutrino follow-up search of gravitational wave event GW150914 with ANTARES and IceCube
in Physical Review D
Adrián-Martínez S
(2016)
THE FIRST COMBINED SEARCH FOR NEUTRINO POINT-SOURCES IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE WITH THE ANTARES AND ICECUBE NEUTRINO TELESCOPES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Albert A
(2019)
Search for Multimessenger Sources of Gravitational Waves and High-energy Neutrinos with Advanced LIGO during Its First Observing Run, ANTARES, and IceCube
in The Astrophysical Journal
Albert A
(2017)
Search for high-energy neutrinos from gravitational wave event GW151226 and candidate LVT151012 with ANTARES and IceCube
in Physical Review D
Albert A
(2017)
Search for High-energy Neutrinos from Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817 with ANTARES, IceCube, and the Pierre Auger Observatory
in The Astrophysical Journal
Alioli S
(2014)
Update of the Binoth Les Houches Accord for a standard interface between Monte Carlo tools and one-loop programs
in Computer Physics Communications
Ambjørn J
(2014)
A restricted dimer model on a two-dimensional random causal triangulation
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Anderson L
(2012)
Heterotic line bundle standard models
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Anderson L
(2013)
Vacuum varieties, holomorphic bundles and complex structure stabilization in heterotic theories
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Angus S
(2013)
Loop corrections to ?N eff in large volume models
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Athenodorou A
(2013)
Closed flux tubes in higher representations and their string description in D=2+1 SU(N) gauge theories
in Journal of High Energy Physics
| Description | Our overall aim is to elucidate the nature of matter and its fundamental interactions via a variety of phenomenological and theoretical studies. It was anticipated in the proposal that new results coming from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN would be of crucial importance and the proposed research was intended to improve our ability to predict the effects of the strong interactions (QCD) on the processes that will be studied at the LHC and develop efficient methods to determine the properties of any new states of matter discovered there. This expectation was more than adequately fulfilled with the discovery of the Higgs boson - responsible for giving mass to all known fundamental particles in the Standard Model of the strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions. Our research also seeks to determine what lies beyond the Standard Model, with the ultimate goal of providing a fully unified theory, including gravity. Experimental progress here has not been as dramatic, in fact the Standard Model has been amazingly successful at explaining all laboratory measurements. Nevertheless there must be new physics, if only to account for the observed universe with its asymmetry between matter and antimatter, preponderance of dark over luminous matter, and inhomogeneities which grow under gravity into the large-scale structure of galaxies, clusters and superclusters ... none of which can be explained in the framework of the Standard Model. We have continued to make progress in studying promising candidate theories, including unified theories and theories with additional space dimensions. |
| Exploitation Route | Our work forms part of a collective effort by theoretical physicists all over the world - each generation builds on the work of those who came before. |
| Sectors | Education |
| URL | http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/particle-theory |
| Description | An innovative website to explain `Why String Theory?' (http://whystringtheory.com/) has received over 100,000 unique visitors. |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Consolidated grant |
| Amount | £717,699 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/P000770/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2017 |
| End | 09/2020 |