Experimental Particle Physics 2012-2016
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
This research is aimed at understanding the properties of the basic building blocks of the Universe (the elementary particles) and the nature of the fundamental forces which govern the interactions of these particles. In so doing, deep insights will be gained about the origin and evolution of the Universe, especially in the first moments after the Big Bang.
The Lancaster research programme covers all the main types of accelerator facilities and is based on hadron collider physics with the Tevatron (Fermilab) and LHC (CERN) machines, and the observation of long baseline neutrino oscillations in Japan. All of this work will be underpinned by Lancaster's expertise in characterising and understanding the properties of heavily irradiated silicon particle detectors, in operating high performance computing facilities on the Grid and in writing offline event reconstruction software.
The hadron collider physics is expected to reveal detailed properties of B hadrons (containing heavy b-quarks) including the mixing of neutral B mesons containing strange quarks, and CP violation which is related to the existence of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. Searches for new physics at the LHC will focus on understanding the origin of mass (and the role of the Higgs boson), the existence of new symmetries of nature (e.g. supersymmetry) and extra spatial dimensions.
The neutrino oscillations programme is expected to provide important information about the masses of and the amount of mixing amongst the three known species of neutrinos. If the appearance of electron neutrinos can be well measured in a muon neutrino beam then it may be possible, in a further phase of the research, to establish the existence of CP violation in the neutrino sector of the Standard Model. This could have wide reaching implications for the understanding of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe.
The development of new particle accelerator technology for high energy particle physics and a broad range of alternaive applications is the mission of the Cockcroft Institute. The Lancaster group were co-founders of the Institute and remain commited to supporting its evolution.
The Lancaster research programme covers all the main types of accelerator facilities and is based on hadron collider physics with the Tevatron (Fermilab) and LHC (CERN) machines, and the observation of long baseline neutrino oscillations in Japan. All of this work will be underpinned by Lancaster's expertise in characterising and understanding the properties of heavily irradiated silicon particle detectors, in operating high performance computing facilities on the Grid and in writing offline event reconstruction software.
The hadron collider physics is expected to reveal detailed properties of B hadrons (containing heavy b-quarks) including the mixing of neutral B mesons containing strange quarks, and CP violation which is related to the existence of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. Searches for new physics at the LHC will focus on understanding the origin of mass (and the role of the Higgs boson), the existence of new symmetries of nature (e.g. supersymmetry) and extra spatial dimensions.
The neutrino oscillations programme is expected to provide important information about the masses of and the amount of mixing amongst the three known species of neutrinos. If the appearance of electron neutrinos can be well measured in a muon neutrino beam then it may be possible, in a further phase of the research, to establish the existence of CP violation in the neutrino sector of the Standard Model. This could have wide reaching implications for the understanding of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe.
The development of new particle accelerator technology for high energy particle physics and a broad range of alternaive applications is the mission of the Cockcroft Institute. The Lancaster group were co-founders of the Institute and remain commited to supporting its evolution.
Planned Impact
1. UK and overseas industry from the contracts that they could receive for construction of the ATLAS tracker upgrade, detectors for a future neutrino experiment and components (eg superconducting RF cavities) for particle accelerator projects. These projects have been stimulated by our current research at the LHC and with T2K in Japan.
2. UK and overseas industry from knowledge exchange resulting from our own basic research with heavily irradiated silicon particle detectors, for which we have a long and impressive track record. Manufacturers of solid state detectors designed to operate in high radiation environments will benefit from the knowledge and ideas that we are able to transmit, enabling them to optimise the design and performance of their own products.
We will ensure that industry is made aware of our research, and thereby benefit from it, through a broad programme of dissemination involving direct contacts with potential industrial partners and with indirect contacts, namely with refereed publications in high impact factor journals, conference & workshop talks and proceedings, university seminars, articles & interviews in the popular media (television, radio, newspapers & scientific magazines), web-casts and Twitter feeds. We believe that these standard forms of dissemination to the academic community also have the potential to reach industrial partners and are a significant supplement to direct contacts.
3. The UK general public, including schools, through outreach activities and the cultural impact of particle physics research.
We will ensure that these communities are made aware of our research, and thereby benefit from it, through a broad programme of dissemination involving articles & interviews in the popular media (television, radio, newspapers & scientific magazines), public lectures, web-casts and Twitter feeds. There is abundant evidence that a large fraction of the general public finds the conceptual ideas of particle physics and its associated technologies both fascinating and stimulating. The most obvious example of this is the extraordinary level of public interest in the LHC, resulting in the term 'Hadron Collider' becoming a phrase that the majority of the population recognize and know something about. Quite regular satirical reference to the machine is powerful evidence that this science has deeply penetrated into the popular culture. The profound questions about the origin of the Universe which particle physics addresses strike a very clear chord with the public, many of who want to understand more about the Universe's origins and hence their own origins. There is an almost insatiable thirst for knowledge about this subject in the general public. At Lancaster we have been involved with the LHC for twenty years and it always has been, and always will be, a great privilege and a pleasure to be able to share our progress and discoveries with members of the public.
In the case of schools, in addition to all of the above, we run a very successful and long established programme of outreach activities, involving particle physics masterclasses, A-level particle physics enrichment days, talks at schools, organised and hosted trips to CERN, and teacher training events. The students benefit from these activities by acquiring deeper understanding of physics, enabling them to perform better in examinations, and by becoming more enthused about the subject in general. The Department employs a part-time physics teacher, funded by the Ogden Trust, to organise most of our schools outreach activities and thanks to his efforts, our outreach programme has proven to be very popular and effective, with growing evidence that more students are being encouraged to apply to do a physics degree either at Lancaster or elsewhere. Many of them cite their interest in particle physics as being one of the key drivers behind their choice of degree. We expect this pattern to continue into the future.
2. UK and overseas industry from knowledge exchange resulting from our own basic research with heavily irradiated silicon particle detectors, for which we have a long and impressive track record. Manufacturers of solid state detectors designed to operate in high radiation environments will benefit from the knowledge and ideas that we are able to transmit, enabling them to optimise the design and performance of their own products.
We will ensure that industry is made aware of our research, and thereby benefit from it, through a broad programme of dissemination involving direct contacts with potential industrial partners and with indirect contacts, namely with refereed publications in high impact factor journals, conference & workshop talks and proceedings, university seminars, articles & interviews in the popular media (television, radio, newspapers & scientific magazines), web-casts and Twitter feeds. We believe that these standard forms of dissemination to the academic community also have the potential to reach industrial partners and are a significant supplement to direct contacts.
3. The UK general public, including schools, through outreach activities and the cultural impact of particle physics research.
We will ensure that these communities are made aware of our research, and thereby benefit from it, through a broad programme of dissemination involving articles & interviews in the popular media (television, radio, newspapers & scientific magazines), public lectures, web-casts and Twitter feeds. There is abundant evidence that a large fraction of the general public finds the conceptual ideas of particle physics and its associated technologies both fascinating and stimulating. The most obvious example of this is the extraordinary level of public interest in the LHC, resulting in the term 'Hadron Collider' becoming a phrase that the majority of the population recognize and know something about. Quite regular satirical reference to the machine is powerful evidence that this science has deeply penetrated into the popular culture. The profound questions about the origin of the Universe which particle physics addresses strike a very clear chord with the public, many of who want to understand more about the Universe's origins and hence their own origins. There is an almost insatiable thirst for knowledge about this subject in the general public. At Lancaster we have been involved with the LHC for twenty years and it always has been, and always will be, a great privilege and a pleasure to be able to share our progress and discoveries with members of the public.
In the case of schools, in addition to all of the above, we run a very successful and long established programme of outreach activities, involving particle physics masterclasses, A-level particle physics enrichment days, talks at schools, organised and hosted trips to CERN, and teacher training events. The students benefit from these activities by acquiring deeper understanding of physics, enabling them to perform better in examinations, and by becoming more enthused about the subject in general. The Department employs a part-time physics teacher, funded by the Ogden Trust, to organise most of our schools outreach activities and thanks to his efforts, our outreach programme has proven to be very popular and effective, with growing evidence that more students are being encouraged to apply to do a physics degree either at Lancaster or elsewhere. Many of them cite their interest in particle physics as being one of the key drivers behind their choice of degree. We expect this pattern to continue into the future.
Organisations
Publications
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Measurement of the top quark mass in the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] channels using [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] ATLAS data.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Constraints on the off-shell Higgs boson signal strength in the high-mass ZZ and WW final states with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Measurement of the top-quark mass in the fully hadronic decay channel from ATLAS data at [Formula: see text].
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2013)
Measurement of kT splitting scales in W?l? events at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2014)
Measurements of jet vetoes and azimuthal decorrelations in dijet events produced in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2014)
Muon reconstruction efficiency and momentum resolution of the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV in 2010.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Determination of spin and parity of the Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text] decay channel with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2013)
Measurement of the [Formula: see text] production cross section in the tau + jets channel using the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2013)
Improved luminosity determination in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector at the LHC.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Search for resonant diboson production in the [Formula: see text] final state in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Atlas Collaboration
(2015)
Jet energy measurement and its systematic uncertainty in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Measurement of the production and lepton charge asymmetry of [Formula: see text] bosons in Pb+Pb collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2014)
Search for direct top squark pair production in events with a [Formula: see text] boson, [Formula: see text]-jets and missing transverse momentum in [Formula: see text] TeV [Formula: see text] collisions with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2014)
The differential production cross section of the [Formula: see text](1020) meson in [Formula: see text] = 7 TeV [Formula: see text] collisions measured with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Performance of the ATLAS muon trigger in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Search for dark matter in events with heavy quarks and missing transverse momentum in [Formula: see text] collisions with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2013)
Measurement of jet shapes in top-quark pair events at [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2014)
Measurement of the centrality and pseudorapidity dependence of the integrated elliptic flow in lead-lead collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
ATLAS Collaboration
(2015)
Measurement of three-jet production cross-sections in [Formula: see text] collisions at 7 [Formula: see text] centre-of-mass energy using the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Collaboration T
(2014)
Monitoring and data quality assessment of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter
in Journal of Instrumentation
Collaboration T
(2014)
A neural network clustering algorithm for the ATLAS silicon pixel detector
in Journal of Instrumentation
Collaboration T
(2014)
Operation and performance of the ATLAS semiconductor tracker
in Journal of Instrumentation
Collaboration T
(2015)
Modelling Z ? tt processes in ATLAS with t-embedded Z ? µµ data
in Journal of Instrumentation
Collaboration T
(2012)
Prototype ATLAS IBL modules using the FE-I4A front-end readout chip
in Journal of Instrumentation
Pralavorio P
(2013)
SUSY searches at ATLAS
in Frontiers of Physics
Rybar M
(2014)
Angular correlations of jets in lead-lead collisions at 2.76 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the LHC
in Nuclear Physics A
The ATLAS Collaboration
(2012)
ATLAS search for a heavy gauge boson decaying to a charged lepton and a neutrino in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7\ \mathrm{TeV}$
in The European Physical Journal C
The ATLAS Collaboration
(2012)
Search for doubly charged Higgs bosons in like-sign dilepton final states at $\sqrt{s} = 7\ \mathrm{TeV}$ with the ATLAS detector
in The European Physical Journal C
The ATLAS Collaboration
(2013)
Search for a light charged Higgs boson in the decay channel [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] events using pp collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector.
in The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields
Wosiek B
(2015)
Azimuthal anisotropies in Pb + Pb and p + Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector
in Annals of Physics
Description | The discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC and the first observation of neutrinos of one type (muon neutrinos) changing into neutrinos of another type (electron neutrinos). |
Exploitation Route | The research is ongoing and will lead to deeper insights into nature and the properties of the fundamental particles and forces. |
Sectors | Education |
URL | http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/research/experimental-particle-physics/ |
Description | Lancaster particle physics masterclasses |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Three days of masterclasses held at Lancaster with Y12/Y13 pupils. The event influences both pupils and teachers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/outreach/masterclasses/ |
Description | WOMAD 2016 Physics Pavilion |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Curated the first phsycis pavilion at the WOMAD festival 2016 in Wiltshire. Totoal attendence over 40,000, through the tent 4000 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |