CAREER: Heavy Flavor Physics with the CDF Detector and Saturday Physics Honors Statewide

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

This CAREER proposal is a request for funding to work on the CDF Detector at the Fermilab Tevatron where the two heaviest quarks, the bottom quark and top quark, were discovered. The Principal Investigator proposes a program that will produce new measurements of the properties of these heavy quarks. Such measurements will undoubtedly lead to an improved understanding of nature at its most fundamental level. Although the physics program emphasizes precision measurements of the heavy quarks, the work performed as part of this project will be crucial to many aspects of the CDF physics program, including the search for the Higgs boson and new physics through Supersymmetry. Specifically, the PI proposes to construct an upgrade to the CDF trigger system, referred to as the eXtremely Fast Tracker (XFT), which will improve the experiment's ability to select which events to keep for subsequent analysis by efficiently finding the charged tracks produced in every proton-antiproton interaction. Charged track information is crucial to the CDF physics program and hundreds of different physics analyses rely heavily upon the very efficient operation of the XFT system. The PI proposes to expand the existing physics outreach program at the University of Illinois, known as the Saturday Physics Honors Program. This program provides physics presentations for the public during selected Saturdays in the fall. The production of DVD copies of the lectures, and the distribution to high school teachers, will provide an opportunity for students across the state to view and learn about cutting edge research and will permit a direct connection between research physicists and high school science teachers.