Hard Processes for Collider Physics

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN has been set the task of uncovering some of
the puzzles we have in constructing a fundamental theory of nature. The
discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 was the pinnacle of the first run of the
machine and not only answered a fifty year old problem in understanding the
Standard Model of particle physics but also served as a testament to the hard
work and impressive engineering of the project as a whole.

In many ways the discovery of a Higgs boson with a mass of 126 GeV raises
more questions than it answers. Cosmological observations indicate new matter
and energy in the universe which cannot be described by the Standard Model. There is also
no description of gravity simultaneously consistent with both quantum
mechanics and relativity which lead us to believe this theory cannot be the
final answer. The higher energy collisions due to start in 2015 will test the
Standard Model once again and try to discover the true nature of this theory,
probing areas where it may not be able to describe observations.

One of the major challenges of any hadron collider is the complicated
environment created by colliding composite particles. Strongly interacting
protons, containing fundamental quarks and gluons, produce large numbers of
final state particles making precise measurements difficult. Remarkably the
Standard Model, and in particular quantum chromo-dynamics (our theory of the
strong force), does an amazing job of modeling observations which tests the
limits of our ability to make accurate predictions and search for deviations in
the comparisons of theory and data.

The project "Hard processes for hadron colliders" aims to use innovative
techniques, inspired from recently developed mathematical tools and exciting
developments in our formal understanding of quantum field theory, to further
our ability to model high energy collisions and help to probe new physics
measurements. Upcoming measurements of the properties of the Higgs sector and
beyond the Standard Model searches will rely heavily on accurate QCD
predictions. Such computations can be performed in a flexible and efficient way
using so called 'on-shell' methods. The aim is to implement these techniques
into public computer codes which can be used in experimental analyses and hopes
to maximize the new physics search potential.

Making phenomenological predictions also requires a deeper understanding of the
basic theoretical framework. We will explore new methods for computations to
high orders in perturbation theory. This hopes to pave the way for future
predictions at the per cent level as well as shedding light on the yet unknown
mathematical structures appearing in quantum field theories.