Top Quark Physics using the Collider Detector at Fermilab

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal requests funds to support a new assistant professor in the experimental high energy physics group at Michigan State University. The Principal Investigator plans to continue her research on top quark physics using the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). The CDF experiment was one of two experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron to announce the discovery of the top quark in 1995. Because of the top quark's large mass, precision measurements of its properties provide an exciting place to look for deviations from the Standard Model, help explain mass generation and give an indication of new physics beyond the Standard Model. The PI's research group is currently working on a new algorithm for defining jets, which are sprays of particles from the decay of quarks and gluons, in the CDF detector. This work leads to the study of bottom-quark jets coming from top-quark decays. The identification of bottom versus anti-bottom quark jets allows the jets to explicitly be linked to the top and anti-top quarks and is crucial for several measurements. For Fermilab Run II, the PI has made commitments to help maintain the Level-3 trigger software and to validate new triggers. In addition, she will upgrade the current silicon detector's interlock system to comply with the new ANSI safety standards. The PI is actively including undergraduates and underrepresented groups in her research program and plans to participate in the QUARKNET program.