The study of elementary particles and their interactions
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
This grant is to continue the group's programme of investigation into the properties of elementary particles and the fundamental forces of nature.
One of the main objectives of this grant will be to support the exploitation of the LHC experiments which will be taking data during the period of this grant. The CMS experiment will continue to measure the Higgs particle, following its successful discovery in 2012. It will also be able to cover completely new areas of parameter space in searches for SUSY and other new phenomena such as finding evidence of potential dark matter candidates. The LHCb experiment will offer complementary tests of the Standard Model and beyond with the ability to look for extremely rare decays in flavour physics and to measure CP asymmetries in the decays of B mesons, both of which are sensitive to contributions from new physics. These experiments will make extensive use of Grid computing which the group will continue to develop and exploit, both for the LHC and for other experiments. The group will also be active in preparing the next generation of detectors for the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC.
The T2K experiment will allow us to expand our understanding of the masses and mixings in the neutrino sector, and should provide key measurements which will guide us as to whether we ultimately could see evidence of CP violation in the neutrino sector. One of the other missing pieces of the neutrino puzzle is whether the neutrino is its own antiparticle. We are preparing the SuperNEMO experiment to attempt to determine if the neutrino is a Majorana particle and first data-taking will occur during the grant. Heavy neutrino-like particles are predicted in several new physics models and we are starting preparations for the SHiP experiment to search for these new particles.
The group will be active in several experiments specifically searching for new physics. Direct conversion of muons to electrons is heavily suppressed in the Standard Model so any observation of this process would be a major discovery. The COMET experiment is searching for this process and will take data during the grant. Similarly, a measurable electric dipole moment for the electron could only arise through new physics and the eEDM experiment will continue to push down the limits for such an effect. Around a quarter of the universe is composed of dark matter and its nature is unknown. This has so far remained undetected in the laboratory and the group will continue its activity in searching for direct evidence of a dark matter candidate through the LUX and later LUX-ZEPLIN experiments.
Accelerators to produce muon beams will be needed for future neutrino and muon collider experiments. The group is continuing its research in this area through the MICE experiment and nuSTORM studies. Proton beams also have potential applications for other scientific fields and for healthcare, and the group is studying how to apply these techniques in these areas. Understanding the LHC in terms of phenomenology is critical to comparing data to theory and the group is very active in this area.
One of the main objectives of this grant will be to support the exploitation of the LHC experiments which will be taking data during the period of this grant. The CMS experiment will continue to measure the Higgs particle, following its successful discovery in 2012. It will also be able to cover completely new areas of parameter space in searches for SUSY and other new phenomena such as finding evidence of potential dark matter candidates. The LHCb experiment will offer complementary tests of the Standard Model and beyond with the ability to look for extremely rare decays in flavour physics and to measure CP asymmetries in the decays of B mesons, both of which are sensitive to contributions from new physics. These experiments will make extensive use of Grid computing which the group will continue to develop and exploit, both for the LHC and for other experiments. The group will also be active in preparing the next generation of detectors for the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC.
The T2K experiment will allow us to expand our understanding of the masses and mixings in the neutrino sector, and should provide key measurements which will guide us as to whether we ultimately could see evidence of CP violation in the neutrino sector. One of the other missing pieces of the neutrino puzzle is whether the neutrino is its own antiparticle. We are preparing the SuperNEMO experiment to attempt to determine if the neutrino is a Majorana particle and first data-taking will occur during the grant. Heavy neutrino-like particles are predicted in several new physics models and we are starting preparations for the SHiP experiment to search for these new particles.
The group will be active in several experiments specifically searching for new physics. Direct conversion of muons to electrons is heavily suppressed in the Standard Model so any observation of this process would be a major discovery. The COMET experiment is searching for this process and will take data during the grant. Similarly, a measurable electric dipole moment for the electron could only arise through new physics and the eEDM experiment will continue to push down the limits for such an effect. Around a quarter of the universe is composed of dark matter and its nature is unknown. This has so far remained undetected in the laboratory and the group will continue its activity in searching for direct evidence of a dark matter candidate through the LUX and later LUX-ZEPLIN experiments.
Accelerators to produce muon beams will be needed for future neutrino and muon collider experiments. The group is continuing its research in this area through the MICE experiment and nuSTORM studies. Proton beams also have potential applications for other scientific fields and for healthcare, and the group is studying how to apply these techniques in these areas. Understanding the LHC in terms of phenomenology is critical to comparing data to theory and the group is very active in this area.
Planned Impact
While much of the research described in this grant is exploring fundamental questions where the immediate impact implications of discoveries can take decades to unfold, there are many examples of areas where technology developed in the pursuit of discoveries can have a more immediate impact. The group has potential impact in several key areas; training, outreach, transfer of HEP technology and ideas, and transfer and development of accelerator technology. These reach a diverse audience ranging from schoolchildren to cancer practitioners to neutron source users. See the submitted "Pathways To Impact" document for further details.
Organisations
Publications
The LZ Collaboration
(2023)
A search for new physics in low-energy electron recoils from the first LZ exposure
Aalbers J
(2022)
First Dark Matter Search Results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment
Ronald K
(2017)
RF system for the MICE demonstration of ionisation cooling
Nonnenmacher T
(2021)
Anomalous beam transport through Gabor (plasma) lens prototype
Rabey IM
(2016)
Low magnetic Johnson noise electric field plates for precision measurement.
in The Review of scientific instruments
Hopkins SA
(2016)
Publisher's Note: "A versatile dual-species Zeeman slower for caesium and ytterbium" [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 87, 043109 (2016)].
in The Review of scientific instruments
Kemp SL
(2016)
Production and characterization of a dual species magneto-optical trap of cesium and ytterbium.
in The Review of scientific instruments
Hopkins SA
(2016)
A versatile dual-species Zeeman slower for caesium and ytterbium.
in The Review of scientific instruments
Aaij R
(2016)
A precise measurement of the [Formula: see text] meson oscillation frequency.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Combined measurements of Higgs boson couplings in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 Te .
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Search for resonant production of second-generation sleptons with same-sign dimuon events in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Search for direct pair production of supersymmetric top quarks decaying to all-hadronic final states in pp collisions at [Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Measurement of the [Formula: see text] cross section in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeVand limits on anomalous gauge couplings.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Search for vector-like quarks in events with two oppositely charged leptons and jets in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 Te .
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Measurement of charged particle spectra in minimum-bias events from proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurement of the t t ¯ production cross section, the top quark mass, and the strong coupling constant using dilepton events in pp collisions at s = 13 Te .
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Measurement of inclusive jet production and nuclear modifications in pPb collisions at [Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurement of the top quark mass in the all-jets final state at s = 13 TeV and combination with the lepton+jets channel.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Measurement of the weak mixing angle using the forward-backward asymmetry of Drell-Yan events in p p collisions at 8 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurements of triple-differential cross sections for inclusive isolated-photon+jet events in p p collisions at s = 8 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurement of exclusive ? 770 0 photoproduction in ultraperipheral pPb collisions at s NN = 5.02 Te .
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Measurement of [Formula: see text] production with additional jet activity, including [Formula: see text] quark jets, in the dilepton decay channel using pp collisions at [Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurement of associated production of a W boson and a charm quark in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 Te .
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Measurement of dijet azimuthal decorrelation in pp collisions at [Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurement of exclusive ? photoproduction from protons in p Pb collisions at s NN = 5.02 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Measurement of differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel in pp collisions at [Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Measurements of the p p ? Z Z production cross section and the Z ? 4 l branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at s = 13 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Measurement of prompt and nonprompt charmonium suppression in PbPb collisions at 5.02 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Search for rare decays of Z and Higgs bosons to J / ? and a photon in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Measurement of associated Z + charm production in proton-proton collisions at s = 8 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurement of differential cross sections for inclusive isolated-photon and photon+jet production in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Aaij R
(2018)
Studies of the resonance structure in D 0 ? K ± p ± p ± p ± decays.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Measurement of the Z / ? * ? t t cross section in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV and validation of t lepton analysis techniques.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Azimuthal separation in nearly back-to-back jet topologies in inclusive 2- and 3-jet events in pp collisions at s = 13 Te .
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Measurement of b hadron lifetimes in pp collisions at s = 8 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Aaij R
(2018)
Search for lepton-flavour-violating decays of Higgs-like bosons.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying to a top quark and a W boson in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Search for massive WH resonances decaying into the [Formula: see text] final state at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2018)
Search for new physics in dijet angular distributions using proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV and constraints on dark matter and other models.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Measurement of the [Formula: see text] production cross section in the all-jets final state in pp collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Search for dark matter produced in association with a Higgs boson decaying to a pair of bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 Te .
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Forward-backward asymmetry of Drell-Yan lepton pairs in pp collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Sirunyan AM
(2019)
Measurement of the average very forward energy as a function of the track multiplicity at central pseudorapidities in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Khachatryan V
(2016)
Search for lepton flavour violating decays of heavy resonances and quantum black holes to an [Formula: see text] pair in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Description | One of the main objectives of this grant was to support the exploitation of the LHC experiments which were taking data during the period of this grant. The CMS experiment continued to measure the Higgs particle, following its successful discovery in 2012. It was also able to cover completely new areas of parameter space in searches for SUSY and other new phenomena such as finding evidence of potential dark matter candidates. The LHCb experiment offered complementary tests of the Standard Model and beyond with the ability to look for extremely rare decays in flavour physics and to measure CP asymmetries in the decays of B mesons, both of which are sensitive to contributions from new physics. These experiments made extensive use of Grid computing which we continued to develop and exploit, both for the LHC and for other experiments. We were also active in preparing the next generation of detectors for the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC. The T2K experiment allowed us to expand our understanding of the masses and mixings in the neutrino sector, and provided key measurements towards obtaining evidence of CP violation in the neutrino sector. One of the other missing pieces of the neutrino puzzle is whether the neutrino is its own antiparticle. We prepared the SuperNEMO experiment to attempt to determine if the neutrino is a Majorana particle and first data-taking occurred during the grant. Heavy neutrino-like particles are predicted in several new physics models and we started preparations for the SHiP experiment to search for these new particles. The group was active in several experiments specifically searching for new physics. Direct conversion of muons to electrons is heavily suppressed in the Standard Model so any observation of this process would be a major discovery. The COMET experiment was prepared to search for this process. Similarly, a measurable electric dipole moment for the electron could only arise through new physics and the eEDM experiment continued to push down the limits for such an effect. Around a quarter of the universe is composed of dark matter and its nature is unknown. This has so far remained undetected in the laboratory and we continued to search for direct evidence of a dark matter candidate through the LUX and later LUX-ZEPLIN experiments. Accelerators to produce muon beams will be needed for future neutrino and muon collider experiments. The group continued its research in this area through the MICE experiment and nuSTORM studies. Proton beams also have potential applications for other scientific fields and for healthcare, and we studied how to apply these techniques in these areas. Understanding the LHC in terms of phenomenology is critical to comparing data to theory and we were very active in this area. |
Exploitation Route | The knowledge gained will directly benefit future researchers in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Healthcare |
Description | ZEPLIN-III detector exhibit & Public Lecture at "Whitby & the Cosmos" exhibition, Whitby, UK |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector, which operated at the Boulby Underground Laboratory between 2007 and 2011, was adapted for public display at Imperial College London and donated to the Whitby Museum in late 2018 -- where it became the centrepiece of the topical exhibition "Whitby & the Cosmos". I gave a public lecture entitled "Searching for WIMPs under the Moors" on 15 Feb 2019 to open the event. The ZEPLIN-III instrument will be moved to the permanent collection of the Museum once the exhibition comes to an end in July 2019. Both the exhibition and the public lecture were widely publicised in the local media. The Museum received further support from the Royal Society for this event. The exhibition will receive many thousand of visitors over the coming months. We had the opportunity to donate the instrument to the Science Museum in London, but we chose the Whitby Museum instead to honour a town which hosted the ZEPLIN collaboration for two decades. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://whitbymuseum.org.uk/2019/01/09/whitby-and-the-cosmos/ |