The Lancaster, Manchester, Sheffield Consortium for Fundamental Physics: Particle Physics from the LHC to the Universe
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Particle physics is all about understanding the elementary building blocks of nature and their interactions. Over the years, physicists have developed the Standard Model of particle physics, which is extremely successful in describing a very wide range of natural phenomena from things as basic as how light works and why atoms form through to the complicated workings inside stars and the synthesis of nuclei in the first few minutes after the Big Bang. However, we know that the Standard Model is not the whole story for it leaves many questions unanswered. Our proposal focuses on these unanswered questions and the way that scientists hope to address them in the coming years using experiments like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) or observations like those that will be made using the Planck satellite.
The discovery at the LHC of a Higgs boson was a major milestone in our quest to understand the origin of mass. It is certainly not, however, the whole story. The LHC experiments are working hard to measure its properties. They are also searching for new particles such as those predicted by supersymmetry and other new physics theories. If supersymmetry is discovered then it offers the hope to explain the origin of the Dark Matter that makes up a large fraction of the material that is known to exist in the Universe. The scientists in our consortium explore the theory of supersymmetry and dark matter. We use data from experiments like the LHC to identify which of the many possible new theories are allowed by the data and to suggest new ways to explore them in experiments. Any "new physics" produced at the LHC will be produced as a result of smashing two protons into each other, a very complicated environment, usually in association with "jets" of other particles. Members of our consortium will explore how we can make use of these jets to learn more about the associated new physics: the better we understand the environment in which new physics occurs, the more we are able to learn about the new physics itself. This is a complicated business that often necessitates computer simulations of particle collisions. Our members are experts in these simulations and have plans on how to make them more accurate, which is necessary if we are to make the most of the exciting data from the LHC.
The Standard Model of particle physics is also insufficient when it comes to explaining the early history of the Universe, when it was hot and dense. The evidence is now very strong that the history began with an era of accelerating expansion, called inflation. We are experts on inflation and its consequences. Inflation makes the Universe featureless, except for tiny quantum fluctuations that cause the density of matter and energy in the Universe to vary with position. These initially small variations grow to become observable effects. One effect is the formation of the billions of galaxies that populate the night sky. Another is to leave a tiny imprint on the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), a faint hum of microwave radiation in which the Universe is bathed. The CMB has been studied in exquisite detail by the Planck satellite. We are at the forefront of interpreting the Planck data in the hope of pinning down which of the various theories of the early universe are ruled out and which remain viable. The deficiencies of the Standard Model extend still further for it does not explain the amount nor even the existence of ordinary matter. Our scientists will use this to constrain possible physics beyond the Standard Model and to do that they need to master the dynamics of the Universe during and after the end of inflation. Last but not least, we hope to understand better the mysterious "Dark Energy" that drives the current and future acceleration of the Universe: one possibility is that it is because Einstein's theory of gravity is not quite right and that is something we will explore.
The discovery at the LHC of a Higgs boson was a major milestone in our quest to understand the origin of mass. It is certainly not, however, the whole story. The LHC experiments are working hard to measure its properties. They are also searching for new particles such as those predicted by supersymmetry and other new physics theories. If supersymmetry is discovered then it offers the hope to explain the origin of the Dark Matter that makes up a large fraction of the material that is known to exist in the Universe. The scientists in our consortium explore the theory of supersymmetry and dark matter. We use data from experiments like the LHC to identify which of the many possible new theories are allowed by the data and to suggest new ways to explore them in experiments. Any "new physics" produced at the LHC will be produced as a result of smashing two protons into each other, a very complicated environment, usually in association with "jets" of other particles. Members of our consortium will explore how we can make use of these jets to learn more about the associated new physics: the better we understand the environment in which new physics occurs, the more we are able to learn about the new physics itself. This is a complicated business that often necessitates computer simulations of particle collisions. Our members are experts in these simulations and have plans on how to make them more accurate, which is necessary if we are to make the most of the exciting data from the LHC.
The Standard Model of particle physics is also insufficient when it comes to explaining the early history of the Universe, when it was hot and dense. The evidence is now very strong that the history began with an era of accelerating expansion, called inflation. We are experts on inflation and its consequences. Inflation makes the Universe featureless, except for tiny quantum fluctuations that cause the density of matter and energy in the Universe to vary with position. These initially small variations grow to become observable effects. One effect is the formation of the billions of galaxies that populate the night sky. Another is to leave a tiny imprint on the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), a faint hum of microwave radiation in which the Universe is bathed. The CMB has been studied in exquisite detail by the Planck satellite. We are at the forefront of interpreting the Planck data in the hope of pinning down which of the various theories of the early universe are ruled out and which remain viable. The deficiencies of the Standard Model extend still further for it does not explain the amount nor even the existence of ordinary matter. Our scientists will use this to constrain possible physics beyond the Standard Model and to do that they need to master the dynamics of the Universe during and after the end of inflation. Last but not least, we hope to understand better the mysterious "Dark Energy" that drives the current and future acceleration of the Universe: one possibility is that it is because Einstein's theory of gravity is not quite right and that is something we will explore.
Planned Impact
See the attached "Pathways to Impact" document for details.
This project has impact beyond the international scientific community mainly through the training of highly skilled graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and through extensive "outreach" activities of various kinds aimed at engaging directly with the general public, school children, teachers, policy makers and the media. Undergraduate teaching is also impacted beneficially by our research.
This project has impact beyond the international scientific community mainly through the training of highly skilled graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and through extensive "outreach" activities of various kinds aimed at engaging directly with the general public, school children, teachers, policy makers and the media. Undergraduate teaching is also impacted beneficially by our research.
Organisations
Publications
Abdalla E
(2022)
Cosmology intertwined: A review of the particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology associated with the cosmological tensions and anomalies
in Journal of High Energy Astrophysics
Abreu H
(2020)
Detecting and studying high-energy collider neutrinos with FASER at the LHC FASER Collaboration
in The European Physical Journal C
Adams M
(2020)
Direct comparison of sterile neutrino constraints from cosmological data, $$\nu _{e}$$ disappearance data and $$\nu _{\mu } \rightarrow \nu _{e} $$ appearance data in a $$3+1$$ model
in The European Physical Journal C
Adhikari R
(2017)
A White Paper on keV sterile neutrino Dark Matter
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Akcay S
(2020)
Dissipation in extreme mass-ratio binaries with a spinning secondary
in Physical Review D
Akcay S
(2017)
Spin-orbit precession for eccentric black hole binaries at first order in the mass ratio
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Albrecht J
(2019)
A Roadmap for HEP Software and Computing R&D for the 2020s
in Computing and Software for Big Science
Alimena J
(2020)
Searching for long-lived particles beyond the Standard Model at the Large Hadron Collider
in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
Alonso I
(2022)
Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map
in EPJ Quantum Technology
Ambru? V
(2017)
Thermal expectation values of fermions on anti-de Sitter space-time
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Ambrus V
(2018)
Analysis of scalar and fermion quantum field theory on anti-de Sitter spacetime
in International Journal of Modern Physics D
Ambrus V
(2021)
Vortical Effects for Free Fermions on Anti-De Sitter Space-Time
in Symmetry
Anderle D
(2017)
Using hadron-in-jet data in a global analysis of D * fragmentation functions
in Physical Review D
Anderle D
(2017)
Fragmentation functions beyond fixed order accuracy
in Physical Review D
Anderle D
(2020)
Groomed jet mass as a direct probe of collinear parton dynamics
in The European Physical Journal C
Anderle D
(2017)
Towards semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering at next-to-next-to-leading order
in Physical Review D
Ariga A
(2019)
FASER's physics reach for long-lived particles
in Physical Review D
Arnaud Q
(2018)
First results from the NEWS-G direct dark matter search experiment at the LSM
in Astroparticle Physics
Balakumar V
(2022)
Quantization of a charged scalar field on a charged black hole background
in Physical Review D
Balakumar V
(2020)
Quantum superradiance on static black hole space-times
in Physics Letters B
Balakumar V
(2020)
Hadamard renormalization for a charged scalar field
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Balakumar V
(2020)
Hadamard parametrix of the Feynman Green's function of a five-dimensional charged scalar field
in International Journal of Modern Physics D
Barausse E
(2020)
Prospects for fundamental physics with LISA
in General Relativity and Gravitation
Batell B
(2021)
Detecting dark matter with far-forward emulsion and liquid argon detectors at the LHC
in Physical Review D
Battye R
(2021)
Simulations of domain walls in Two Higgs Doublet Models
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Battye R
(2021)
Radio line properties of axion dark matter conversion in neutron stars
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Battye R
(2021)
Photon interactions with superconducting topological defects
in Physics Letters B
Battye R
(2022)
Towards robust constraints on axion dark matter using PSR J1745-2900
in Physical Review D
Battye R
(2022)
A detailed study of the stability of vortons
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Battye R
(2020)
Domain wall constraints on two-Higgs-doublet models with Z 2 symmetry
in Physical Review D
Bellm J
(2020)
Herwig 7.2 release note
in The European Physical Journal C
Belyaev A
(2018)
Problems with Higgsplosion
in Physical Review D
Benone C
(2017)
Addendum to "Absorption of a massive scalar field by a charged black hole"
in Physical Review D
Bewick G
(2020)
Logarithmic accuracy of angular-ordered parton showers
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Bewick G
(2022)
Initial state radiation in the Herwig 7 angular-ordered parton shower
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Bezrukov F
(2019)
Induced resonance makes light sterile neutrino dark matter cool
in Physical Review D
Bezrukov F
(2021)
Light inflaton model in a metastable universe
in Physical Review D
Bezrukov F
(2020)
A heatwave affair: mixed Higgs- R 2 preheating on the lattice
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Bezrukov F
(2019)
Some like it hot: R2 heals Higgs inflation, but does not cool it
in Physics Letters B
Bezrukov F
(2020)
Heavy light inflaton and dark matter production
in Physical Review D
Bezrukov F
(2017)
Hiding an elephant: heavy sterile neutrino with large mixing angle does not contradict cosmology
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Bezrukov F
(2020)
Scalar induced resonant sterile neutrino production in the early Universe
in Physical Review D
Bhupal Dev P
(2017)
Natural Alignment in the Two Higgs Doublet Model
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Birch-Sykes C
(2020)
Accidental symmetries in the 2HDMEFT
in Nuclear Physics B
Branchina V
(2018)
Protecting the stability of the electroweak vacuum from Planck-scale gravitational effects
in Physical Review D
Brax P
(2022)
Cointeracting dark matter and conformally coupled light scalars
in Physical Review D
Brax P
(2020)
Swampland and screened modified gravity
in Physical Review D
Candia Da Silva P
(2020)
Radiative neutrino masses in the ? R MSSM
in Physical Review D
| Description | Progress on many fronts towards a better understanding of the universe, by developing theoretical models constrained by data from the LHC and cosmology experiments. |
| Exploitation Route | By continued research. |
| Sectors | Education |
| Description | Researchers supported by this award have been very active in outreach activities for the general public, schools and scientists from other fields. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |