Particle Physics at High Energy Colliders

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal requests funds to support the High Energy Physics research of a group at Michigan State University that is participating in CDF and ATLAS, two experiments probing the energy frontier. The CDF experiment at Fermilab's Tevatron is studying proton-antiproton collisions. These studies have yielded a number of important results including the discovery of the top quark, an accurate measurement of its mass, and the measurement of the jet cross section at the highest transverse energies currently accessible. The CDF detector has been extensively upgraded to take full advantage of the increased energy (1.8 to 1.96 TeV) and the increased luminosity present in Run II and this group has made major contributions to the upgrades. The group is working on studies of heavy quarks, electroweak particles, Quantum ChromoDynamics (QCD) and searches for new phenomena with a data sample that is currently a factor of 3-4 larger than that taken in the previous run. The group is also contributing to the development of new physics tools, especially for the analysis of QCD phenomena, that will be necessary to fully exploit the Run II data as well as to exploit the data to be taken by the next generation of experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland. The main focus of this group on the ATLAS LHC experiment has been the construction and testing of parts of the hadron calorimeter. The group is designing, building and installing scintillator planes to be used for triggering and timing and is working on the installation of the detector. The group is involved in pilot studies to maximize the physics extracted from the early running of ATLAS. Broader impacts: The group includes undergraduates and high school science teachers, and their students, in research activities. They are participating in the QUARKNET program with the goal of sharing the excitement of discovery in particle physics with many young students.