2012 Consolidated Grant Supplement
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The scope of the proposed research lies in five distinct areas: the physics of particles containing
the beauty quark at LHCb; the physics of neutrinos with T2K and SuperNEMO; Higgs and new phenomena searches at ATLAS; accelerator research and development for new high intensity proton, muon and neutrino beams; detector R&D. It also includes Outreach and Knowledge Exchange programmes. In more detail:
o We aim to further our research into matter/anti-matter asymmetry (CP Violation) in the decays of Beauty
mesons at the LHCb experiment. This is important, because we have shown in past experiments that
the leading source of CP violation at the weak scale is consistent with the Standard Model mechanism
of CP violation. However, cosmological considerations indicate that there should be other sources
of CP violation in Nature, so we aim to make further sensitive tests with beauty mesons, in order
to see if any evidence for additional sources of CP violation or other new physics in Nature may appear in such decays.
o The elucidation of the properties of neutrinos. These are very light, neutral particles which are
emitted, for example, by the sun, and in radioactive beta decay. They have recently been found to
oscillate, ie. transmute from one type to another, while they propagate. We have built part
of the T2K experiment which is now operating in Japan. Analyses of early data give tantalising hints of the previously unobserved oscillations of muon to electron type neutrinos. We aim to continue running this experiment, hopefully to confirm these preliminary hints. If confirmed, the largeness of the effect will offer the chance to go on to look for asymmetries between the oscillations of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos.
We further plan to contribute to the SuperNEMO experiment, which aims to determine the nature of the neutrino as so called Dirac or Majorana particle. The former has distinct anti-particles, while the latter is its own antiparticle. This question may be resolved by searching for double beta decay accompanied by no neutrinos. We will contribute to the analysis of data obtained by a "demonstrator module" attempting to observe such decays.
o We have recently joined the ATLAS experiment at CERN, a general purpose detector operating at the LHC. Our initial work will be to support the experiment by contributing to its ability to identify interesting events rapidly for recording and further analysis. We will also contribute to the search for the Higgs boson, the last missing piece in the Standard Model of particle physics. We will do this by helping to optimise the search for its decays to pairs of tau leptons, heavy relatives of the electron.
o We propose to continue our research and development of high power accelerators for the generation of proton, muon and neutrino beams. We have in mind future neutrino factories, although other machines could benefit from our research. Such neutrino factories, if built, would continue to develop the theme of research into neutrino oscillations and matter-antimatter asymmetry of neutrinos outlined above. Such machines could also bring many benefits to medicine and industry.
o We propose to continue our research and development of position- and energy-sensitive detectors
for applications in neutrino experiments and with potential spin-off applications in industry.
o We will continue to develop our outreach programme which includes activities for local schools
and articles in popular science publications.
o Supported by a strong University strategy and ethos in KE, we will continue to pursue all avenues
for possible knowledge exchange.
the beauty quark at LHCb; the physics of neutrinos with T2K and SuperNEMO; Higgs and new phenomena searches at ATLAS; accelerator research and development for new high intensity proton, muon and neutrino beams; detector R&D. It also includes Outreach and Knowledge Exchange programmes. In more detail:
o We aim to further our research into matter/anti-matter asymmetry (CP Violation) in the decays of Beauty
mesons at the LHCb experiment. This is important, because we have shown in past experiments that
the leading source of CP violation at the weak scale is consistent with the Standard Model mechanism
of CP violation. However, cosmological considerations indicate that there should be other sources
of CP violation in Nature, so we aim to make further sensitive tests with beauty mesons, in order
to see if any evidence for additional sources of CP violation or other new physics in Nature may appear in such decays.
o The elucidation of the properties of neutrinos. These are very light, neutral particles which are
emitted, for example, by the sun, and in radioactive beta decay. They have recently been found to
oscillate, ie. transmute from one type to another, while they propagate. We have built part
of the T2K experiment which is now operating in Japan. Analyses of early data give tantalising hints of the previously unobserved oscillations of muon to electron type neutrinos. We aim to continue running this experiment, hopefully to confirm these preliminary hints. If confirmed, the largeness of the effect will offer the chance to go on to look for asymmetries between the oscillations of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos.
We further plan to contribute to the SuperNEMO experiment, which aims to determine the nature of the neutrino as so called Dirac or Majorana particle. The former has distinct anti-particles, while the latter is its own antiparticle. This question may be resolved by searching for double beta decay accompanied by no neutrinos. We will contribute to the analysis of data obtained by a "demonstrator module" attempting to observe such decays.
o We have recently joined the ATLAS experiment at CERN, a general purpose detector operating at the LHC. Our initial work will be to support the experiment by contributing to its ability to identify interesting events rapidly for recording and further analysis. We will also contribute to the search for the Higgs boson, the last missing piece in the Standard Model of particle physics. We will do this by helping to optimise the search for its decays to pairs of tau leptons, heavy relatives of the electron.
o We propose to continue our research and development of high power accelerators for the generation of proton, muon and neutrino beams. We have in mind future neutrino factories, although other machines could benefit from our research. Such neutrino factories, if built, would continue to develop the theme of research into neutrino oscillations and matter-antimatter asymmetry of neutrinos outlined above. Such machines could also bring many benefits to medicine and industry.
o We propose to continue our research and development of position- and energy-sensitive detectors
for applications in neutrino experiments and with potential spin-off applications in industry.
o We will continue to develop our outreach programme which includes activities for local schools
and articles in popular science publications.
o Supported by a strong University strategy and ethos in KE, we will continue to pursue all avenues
for possible knowledge exchange.
Planned Impact
Beneficiaries of the proposed research will include:
o UK industry and academic partners from outside particle physics may benefit from the possibility of technological spin-off from hardware and/or software which we propose to develop as part of the research programme. A derivative of our research on future neutrino detectors has been the issue of two IP licenses with the target being spin-off opportunities in the area of photo-voltaic technology. Another commercial opportunity more directly aimed at UK industry might soon be realised for another invention of the detector R&D group, enabling very cost-effective large area or volume radiation sensors. These initiatives will all be supervised by Warwick Ventures - the university's professional subsidiary for commercial advancement and support. Furthermore, our work in developing innovative reconstruction methods for large-scale neutrino detectors has potential beneficiaries from a range of subjects, including mathematics, computer science biological and medical science. Local contacts to the Warwick Computer Science Department exist as well as a collaboration with the Statistics Department in Durham. Another potentially interesting partner has been identified in Systems Biology at Warwick.
o Local school children and the general public through our outreach programme will learn about cutting-edge research carried out on the building blocks of matter and their fundamental interactions, using state-of the art instrumentation. One of the most effective means of engagement in terms of audience size comes through media coverage. For aspects of our research activity that we feel the public could particularly engage with, we work with the University's Communication Office to issue press releases. This has in the past been successful in generating some rather high profile news coverage e.g. BBC Midlands Today coverage, BBC website items,
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio exposure as well as university video content organised by the Communications Office. Members of our group will continue to regularly publicise our science through engagements such as public lectures and talks to local clubs and societies. We will also continue to foster and develop close ties with local schools through: our annual Masterclass initiative, hosting local students as part of the Aimhigher initiative, supervising students for summer holiday placements (e.g. as part of the Gold Crest scheme), activities associated with the STEMNET Science and Engineering Ambassadors (e.g. contributions science fairs and exhibitions) and participation in the`I'm a scientist - get me out of here' events.
During the next grants period, we plan a tighter coordination of both the scope and frequency of press releases showcasing our work. Schools liaison will continue to develop with more emphasis placed on interaction with teachers - an area which has received a boost through the recent appointment of a dedicated Ogden Teaching Fellow for the Warwick Physics Department. This year, our group were part of a successful bid to STFC for a Science in Society Small Award to purchase a mobile dome which can be used as a resource to publicise our research. We will work to develop particle physics content for the dome for use on public occasions such as university open days, but also to expand our outreach activities e.g. into primary schools.
o Our post-graduate students currently enjoy access to a diverse range of key-skills training courses laid on by the University. In the future we plan to further exploit opportunities that exist within the University, for joint studentships with industrial partners where the results of research would find an immediate commercial application and would provide students with first-hand industrial/commercial experience. This will benefit industry, gaining access to well-trained people who can help them with tasks such as data mining and modelling, which are of increasing importance.
o UK industry and academic partners from outside particle physics may benefit from the possibility of technological spin-off from hardware and/or software which we propose to develop as part of the research programme. A derivative of our research on future neutrino detectors has been the issue of two IP licenses with the target being spin-off opportunities in the area of photo-voltaic technology. Another commercial opportunity more directly aimed at UK industry might soon be realised for another invention of the detector R&D group, enabling very cost-effective large area or volume radiation sensors. These initiatives will all be supervised by Warwick Ventures - the university's professional subsidiary for commercial advancement and support. Furthermore, our work in developing innovative reconstruction methods for large-scale neutrino detectors has potential beneficiaries from a range of subjects, including mathematics, computer science biological and medical science. Local contacts to the Warwick Computer Science Department exist as well as a collaboration with the Statistics Department in Durham. Another potentially interesting partner has been identified in Systems Biology at Warwick.
o Local school children and the general public through our outreach programme will learn about cutting-edge research carried out on the building blocks of matter and their fundamental interactions, using state-of the art instrumentation. One of the most effective means of engagement in terms of audience size comes through media coverage. For aspects of our research activity that we feel the public could particularly engage with, we work with the University's Communication Office to issue press releases. This has in the past been successful in generating some rather high profile news coverage e.g. BBC Midlands Today coverage, BBC website items,
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio exposure as well as university video content organised by the Communications Office. Members of our group will continue to regularly publicise our science through engagements such as public lectures and talks to local clubs and societies. We will also continue to foster and develop close ties with local schools through: our annual Masterclass initiative, hosting local students as part of the Aimhigher initiative, supervising students for summer holiday placements (e.g. as part of the Gold Crest scheme), activities associated with the STEMNET Science and Engineering Ambassadors (e.g. contributions science fairs and exhibitions) and participation in the`I'm a scientist - get me out of here' events.
During the next grants period, we plan a tighter coordination of both the scope and frequency of press releases showcasing our work. Schools liaison will continue to develop with more emphasis placed on interaction with teachers - an area which has received a boost through the recent appointment of a dedicated Ogden Teaching Fellow for the Warwick Physics Department. This year, our group were part of a successful bid to STFC for a Science in Society Small Award to purchase a mobile dome which can be used as a resource to publicise our research. We will work to develop particle physics content for the dome for use on public occasions such as university open days, but also to expand our outreach activities e.g. into primary schools.
o Our post-graduate students currently enjoy access to a diverse range of key-skills training courses laid on by the University. In the future we plan to further exploit opportunities that exist within the University, for joint studentships with industrial partners where the results of research would find an immediate commercial application and would provide students with first-hand industrial/commercial experience. This will benefit industry, gaining access to well-trained people who can help them with tasks such as data mining and modelling, which are of increasing importance.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Paul Harrison (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Aad G
(2015)
Search for pair-produced long-lived neutral particles decaying to jets in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter in pp collisions at s = 8 TeV
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2013)
Search for pair-produced massive coloured scalars in four-jet final states with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7\ \mbox{TeV}$
in The European Physical Journal C
Aad G
(2015)
Search for photonic signatures of gauge-mediated supersymmetry in 8 TeV p p collisions with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2015)
Search for production of an ? ( 1 S ) meson in association with a W or Z boson using the full 1.96 TeV p p ¯ collision data set at CDF
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2015)
Search for production of vector-like quark pairs and of four top quarks in the lepton-plus-jets final state in pp collisions at s = 8 $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Aad G
(2014)
Search for quantum black hole production in high-invariant-mass lepton+jet final states using pp collisions at vs=8 TeV and the ATLAS detector.
in Physical review letters
Aaij R
(2013)
Search for rare B(0)((s))?µ(+)µ(-)µ(+)µ(-) decays.
in Physical review letters
Aaltonen T
(2015)
Search for Resonances Decaying to Top and Bottom Quarks with the CDF Experiment.
in Physical review letters
Aad G
(2013)
Search for resonant diboson production in the W W / W Z ? l ? j j decay channels with the ATLAS detector at s = 7 TeV
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2012)
Search for resonant top quark plus jet production in t t ¯ + jets events with the ATLAS detector in p p collisions at s = 7 TeV
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2012)
Search for resonant W Z production in the W Z ? l ? l ' l ' channel in ( s ) = 7 TeV p p collisions with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Aaltonen T
(2014)
Search for s-channel single-top-quark production in events with missing energy plus jets in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aad G
(2015)
Search for Scalar Charm Quark Pair Production in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=8 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.
in Physical review letters
Aad G
(2014)
Search for scalar diphoton resonances in the mass range 65-600 GeV with the ATLAS detector in pp collision data at vs=8 TeV.
in Physical review letters
Aad G
(2013)
Search for single b ? -quark production with the ATLAS detector at s = 7 TeV
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2016)
Search for single top-quark production via flavour-changing neutral currents at 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Aad G
(2015)
Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s = 8 $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Aad G
(2014)
Search for squarks and gluinos with the ATLAS detector in final states with jets and missing transverse momentum using s = 8 $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV proton-proton collision data
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Aad G
(2014)
Search for supersymmetry at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV in final states with jets and two same-sign leptons or three leptons with the ATLAS detector
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Aad G
(2014)
Search for supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons in s = 8 TeV p p collisions with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2012)
Search for supersymmetry in events with large missing transverse momentum, jets, and at least one tau lepton in 7 TeV proton-proton collision data with the ATLAS detector
in The European Physical Journal C
Aad G
(2012)
Search for supersymmetry in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in v[s]=7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector.
in Physical review letters
Aad G
(2013)
Search for t t ¯ resonances in the lepton plus jets final state with ATLAS using 4.7 fb - 1 of p p collisions at s = 7 TeV
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2012)
Search for tb resonances in proton-proton collisions at vs=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.
in Physical review letters
Aad G
(2012)
Search for TeV-scale gravity signatures in final states with leptons and jets with the ATLAS detector at s = 7 TeV
in Physics Letters B
Aaij R
(2015)
Search for the ? b 0 ? ?? ' and ? b 0 ? ?? decays with the LHCb detector
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Aad G
(2015)
Search for the associated production of the Higgs boson with a top quark pair in multilepton final states with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aaij R
(2013)
Search for the decay B s 0 ? D * ± p ±
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2012)
Search for the decay B s 0 ? µ + µ - with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2016)
Search for the electroweak production of supersymmetric particles in s = 8 TeV p p collisions with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2012)
Search for the Higgs boson in the H ? W W ? l ? j j decay channel at s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2014)
Search for the lepton flavor violating decay Z ? e µ in p p collisions at s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physical Review D
Aaij R
(2013)
Search for the lepton-flavor-violating decays B(s)0?e(±)µ(±) and B0?e(±)µ(±).
in Physical review letters
Aaij R
(2016)
Search for the lepton-flavour violating decay D0?e±µ±
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2016)
Search for the production of single vector-like and excited quarks in the Wt final state in pp collisions at s = 8 $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Aaij R
(2013)
Search for the rare decay D 0 ? µ + µ -
in Physics Letters B
Aaij R
(2015)
Search for the rare decays B 0 ? J / ? ? and B s 0 ? J / ? ?
in Physical Review D
Aad G
(2014)
Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson decay to µ + µ - with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2012)
Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in the H ? W W ( ? ) ? l ? l ? decay mode with 4.7 fb - 1 of ATLAS data at s = 7 TeV
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2015)
Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with top quarks and decaying into [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Aad G
(2012)
Search for top and bottom squarks from gluino pair production in final states with missing transverse energy and at least three b-jets with the ATLAS detector
in The European Physical Journal C
Description | We have made many key measurements in B physics. we have made detailed studies of the Higgs boson, and excluded large areas of parameter space in beyond Standard Model physics. We have made measurements of neutrino oscillations. |
Exploitation Route | . |
Sectors | Education |
Description | We have designed photovoltaic trees as an application of GEANT 4. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
Title | Review of Particle Properties |
Description | This is a globally-accessible database of all particle physics results. Many results of this research have entered into this database and several members of my team have directly contributed to this database. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2009 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This database is the research Bible for particle physics. It is universally used and accepted within the particle physics community and is without peer. |
URL | http://pdg.lbl.gov |
Title | LAURA++ Package |
Description | C++ Package for Dalitz plot generation and fitting |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Use in other particle physics experiments |
URL | https://laura.hepforge.org |
Description | Warwick Particle Physics Masterclass |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 50-60 Warwickshire sixth form students and their teachers attended Very positive feedback both directly and from questionaire forms |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019 |