Deputy Spokesperson of ATLAS during 2011-2013
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The ATLAS experiment is the world's largest experiment at a particle collider, and is sited on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland. Scientists and engineers from thirty-eight countries have come together to build, operate and analyse the data from the ATLAS apparatus. In total the Collaboration numbers some 2900 scientific authors. The first collisions of protons, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms, were produced in late 2009, but these were just the start of a twenty-year long programme of measurements and - we anticipate - discoveries. Already the ATLAS experiment is probing physics on smaller scales than ever before, equivalent to probing back to the physics processes that happened a tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang. It is entirely possible, with the collision data being collected now and in the next year or two, that new physical phenomena will be discovered, bringing revolutionary changes to our understanding of the physics of the most fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces between them. The ATLAS Collaboration is led by a spokesperson with two deputies: this funding is to support one of the two deputies, Prof David Charlton from the University of Birmingham, during 2011-2013.
Publications
Aad G
(2013)
Search for long-lived, multi-charged particles in pp collisions at s = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2012)
Search for heavy vector-like quarks coupling to light quarks in proton-proton collisions at s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2011)
Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to t + t - pairs in proton-proton collisions at s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2013)
Search for new phenomena in the W W ? l ? l ' ? ' final state in pp collisions at s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2012)
Search for new physics in the dijet mass distribution using 1 fb-1 of pp collision data at s = 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
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
Aad G
(2012)
Measurement of the top quark pair production cross section in pp collisions at s = 7 TeV in dilepton final states with ATLAS
in Physics Letters B
Description | Large number of physics papers from ATLAS during this period while I was Deputy Spokesperson of the Collaboration. In addition the Higgs boson was discovered in July 2012. |
Exploitation Route | The physics yield from ATLAS, especially the Higgs boson discovery, has made a big impact both on popular appreciation of big science, and also on the scientific understanding of the nature of space-time. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Other |
Description | ATLAS Collaboration |
Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Deputy Spokesperson and Spokesperson |
Collaborator Contribution | They built and operate most of the detector. Etc. Experimental Collaboration. |
Impact | See elsewhere. |
Description | IAS Distinguished Lecture, HKUST, Hong Kong |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Around 50 attendees from the Institute of Advanced Studies at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology As a result of this and other activities over the course of a year by ATLAS management, Hong Kong has decided to join the ATLAS Collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Masterclass 2012 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Around one hundred pupils attended a masterclass in Birmingham, I participated via live video linkup from CERN. Much interest from the students. - |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Newsnight, 13 Dec 2011 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview with Susan Watts for Newsnight on the day of the Higgs "update seminar" in Dec 2011 - |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Public lecture, Coimbra |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | A couple of hundred school students from around Portugal attended this talk, in English (including a handful of students from Brazil). There was great enthusiasm and many questions afterwards. Lecture is available online. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |