The Lancaster, Manchester, Sheffield Consortium for Fundamental Physics: Particle Physics from colliders 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 are addressing them using experiments like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) or observations like those 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 was certainly not, however, the whole story and the LHC experiments are continually improving their measurements of its properties to understand whether it is really the expected Higgs boson or a messenger of new physics. During the current shut-down for upgrade of the LHC, they are still searching for evidence of new particles in their data. One of the most promising possibilities is that the LHC will discover the particle(s) responsible for the Dark Matter that makes up a large fraction of the known material in the Universe. The scientists in our consortium study theories of dark matter, using data from the LHC, dedicated dark matter searches, and astrophysical observations. 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 are making theoretical advances that will underpin improvements in their accuracy, which is essential 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 causes tiny quantum fluctuations in the early Universe, which ultimately grew 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 radiation in which the Universe is bathed. The CMB has been studied in exquisite detail by the Planck satellite. We have been at the forefront of interpreting the Planck data's clues about the precise form of the inflationary theory. There is also overwhelming evidence that the expansion of the Universe is currently accelerating. Our scientists are working on particle physics explanations of this expansion, known as Dark Energy theories, and the interplay between them and Dark Matter theories.
The evolution of the Universe itself is governed by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. This theory also predicts extreme regions in which space is so curved that not even light can escape - black holes (BH). Our scientists are studying the conditions under which BHs are stable, how they affect the interactions of particles around them, including hypothetical extremely light particles called axions, and whether BH solutions are related to the "arrow of time".
The discovery at the LHC of a Higgs boson was a major milestone in our quest to understand the origin of mass. It was certainly not, however, the whole story and the LHC experiments are continually improving their measurements of its properties to understand whether it is really the expected Higgs boson or a messenger of new physics. During the current shut-down for upgrade of the LHC, they are still searching for evidence of new particles in their data. One of the most promising possibilities is that the LHC will discover the particle(s) responsible for the Dark Matter that makes up a large fraction of the known material in the Universe. The scientists in our consortium study theories of dark matter, using data from the LHC, dedicated dark matter searches, and astrophysical observations. 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 are making theoretical advances that will underpin improvements in their accuracy, which is essential 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 causes tiny quantum fluctuations in the early Universe, which ultimately grew 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 radiation in which the Universe is bathed. The CMB has been studied in exquisite detail by the Planck satellite. We have been at the forefront of interpreting the Planck data's clues about the precise form of the inflationary theory. There is also overwhelming evidence that the expansion of the Universe is currently accelerating. Our scientists are working on particle physics explanations of this expansion, known as Dark Energy theories, and the interplay between them and Dark Matter theories.
The evolution of the Universe itself is governed by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. This theory also predicts extreme regions in which space is so curved that not even light can escape - black holes (BH). Our scientists are studying the conditions under which BHs are stable, how they affect the interactions of particles around them, including hypothetical extremely light particles called axions, and whether BH solutions are related to the "arrow of time".
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
Battye R
(2022)
A detailed study of the stability of vortons
in Journal of High Energy Physics
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
Balakumar V
(2022)
Quantization of a charged scalar field on a charged black hole background
in Physical Review D
Dimopoulos K
(2022)
Palatini R 2 quintessential inflation
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Mercati F
(2022)
Traversing through a black hole singularity
in Physical Review D
Karamitros D
(2022)
MiMeS, the Misalignment Mechanism Solver
Bewick G
(2022)
Initial state radiation in the Herwig 7 angular-ordered parton shower
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Daniel R
(2022)
Transitioning from a bounce to $R^2$ inflation
Battye R
(2022)
Towards robust constraints on axion dark matter using PSR J1745-2900
in Physical Review D
Torres T
(2022)
Wave focusing by submerged islands and gravitational analogues
Dimopoulos K
(2022)
Modelling Quintessential Inflation in Palatini Modified Gravity
Da Silva P
(2022)
Tri-Resonant Leptogenesis in a Seesaw Extension of the Standard Model
Alonso I
(2022)
Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map
in EPJ Quantum Technology
Schacht S
(2022)
A $U$-Spin Anomaly in Charm CP Violation
Hijazi M
(2022)
Frictionless UV-finite Instantons in Curved Spacetime
Karamitros D
(2022)
Towards a Localised S-Matrix Theory
Finn K.
(2022)
Geometrising the Micro-Cosmos on a Supermanifold
in Proceedings of Science
Goudelis A
(2022)
Ultraviolet freeze-in baryogenesis
in Physical Review D
Goudelis A
(2022)
Ultraviolet freeze-in baryogenesis
Karamitros D
(2022)
MiMeS: Misalignment mechanism solver
in Computer Physics Communications
Goudzovski E
(2022)
New Physics Searches at Kaon and Hyperon Factories
Pilaftsis A
(2022)
Geometrising the Micro-Cosmos on a Supermanifold
Law K
(2022)
Charged and C P -violating kink solutions in the two-Higgs-doublet model
in Physical Review D
Hadj M
(2022)
Conversion of electromagnetic and gravitational waves by a charged black hole
in Physical Review D
Dimopoulos K
(2022)
Palatini $R^2$ Quintessential Inflation
Candia Da Silva P
(2022)
Tri-resonant leptogenesis in a seesaw extension of the Standard Model
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Karamitros D
(2022)
Quantum Coherence of Critical Unstable Two-Level Systems
Brax P
(2022)
Cointeracting dark matter and conformally coupled light scalars
in Physical Review D
Schacht S
(2022)
Enhancement of charm CP violation due to nearby resonances
in Physics Letters B
Dimopoulos K
(2022)
Waterfall stiff period can generate observable primordial gravitational waves
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Dolan SR
(2022)
Gravitational Perturbations of Rotating Black Holes in Lorenz Gauge.
in Physical review letters
Forshaw J
(2022)
Rings and strings: a basis for understanding subleading colour and QCD coherence beyond the two-jet limit
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Daniel R
(2023)
Transitioning from a bounce to R 2 inflation
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Goudzovski E
(2023)
New physics searches at kaon and hyperon factories.
in Reports on progress in physics. Physical Society (Great Britain)
Gattus V
(2023)
Minimal Supergeometric Quantum Field Theories
Karamitros D
(2023)
NSC++: Non-standard cosmologies in C++
in Computer Physics Communications
Betts J
(2023)
Machine learning and structure formation in modified gravity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gattus V
(2023)
Minimal supergeometric quantum field theories
in Physics Letters B
Hannesdottir H
(2023)
Prospects for strong coupling measurement at hadron colliders using soft-drop jet mass
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Tjemsland J
(2023)
Adiabatic Axion-Photon Mixing Near Neutron Stars
Pla S
(2023)
Equivalence of the adiabatic expansion and Hadamard renormalization for a charged scalar field
in Physical Review D
Da Silva P
(2023)
Tri-Resonant Leptogenesis
Dalianis I
(2023)
Freeze-in baryogenesis and early matter domination
Karamitros D
(2023)
Quantum coherence of critical unstable two-level systems
in Physical Review D
Terente Díaz J
(2023)
Gauss-Bonnet Dark Energy and the speed of gravitational waves
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Dimopoulos K
(2023)
Explaining the Hubble tension and dark energy from $\alpha$-attractors
Title | Vacuum polarization on three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-time with Robin boundary conditions |
Description | Data for Figures 6, 7 and 8 from the paper "Vacuum polarization on three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-time with Robin boundary conditions", arXiv:2209.01133 [hep-th]. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://figshare.shef.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Vacuum_polarization_on_three-dimensional_anti-de_Sitter... |