CAREER: Studies in Frontier Particle Physics

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

Project Description: This proposal supports research at the frontiers of experimental particle physics. The goals of the program are to lead discoveries on the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and to promote teaching, learning, and sharing the excitement of the research with the broader community. Intellectual Merit: The scientific goal of the program is to discover new particles that explain unification of the fundamental forces and particles, the mystery of dark matter and energy, and the lack of antimatter in our universe. The research being proposed will maximize the scientific value of the CMS experiment at the LHC. In the first two years of the program novel techniques developed by the PI will be used to optimize the detector for the discoveries through careful alignment analysis of its components. In the subsequent years, the optimized detector will be used as a tool to discover new mysterious particles. The unprecedented level of the energy scale of the new collider facility will open an extensive range of physics topics. A new mysterious Higgs particle is expected to be responsible for the property of mass of all particles. The angular analysis of its decay will be a way to understand its origin. The PI has already tools to disentangle complicated angular structures through his discoveries in the area of quark flavor physics. The Higgs may not be alone, and a more general symmetry may be necessary to explain the fundamental laws of physics. A popular symmetry predicts heavy supersymmetric particles. The research direction during the subsequent years of the program will be guided by the first data. Discovery of new particles at the energy frontier will depend on the ability to distinguish them from an enormous background of random particles produced in the high-energy collisions. Understanding the alignment of thousands of silicon sensors which track the particle paths is necessary to achieve micron precision and becomes the decisive factor in success of the program. The PI plans new procedures for alignment analysis of the CMS silicon tracking system using combination of the optical survey measurements and information from tracks. The PI brings this advanced technique from his pioneering studies in the quark flavor experiment and builds on expertise of the Johns Hopkins group in the CMS silicon detectors. Broader Impact: The proposed research has a strong educational component. It will provide training for graduate students and allow undergraduate students to participate in research. The PI plans to develop hands-on demonstrations of elementary particles and other outreach activities through the QuarkNet program, annual Johns Hopkins Physics Fair, and collaboration with the Maryland Science Center. Collaboration with the Science Center has been funded by NSF from the EPSI grant. The PI will engage graduate students in collaboration with experts from the Science Center to create new exhibits which will communicate LHC research results to the public. This will strengthen the student's skills for public outreach, fulfill the Center's mission to further the public understanding of research, and serve as a guide for other universities and centers.