Automated Computation of One-loop Scattering Amplitudes

Cuny New York City College Of Technology, Brooklyn NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The largest and most powerful particle collider ever built, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is ready to start its operation at CERN. This will present a big challenge for the whole high energy physics community, both on the experimental and the theoretical side. A huge amount of data will need to be processed, analyzed and then compared with theoretical models and predictions. On the one hand the LHC will test in depth the current Standard Model (SM) of particle physics and search for the last missing particle predicted in the model, the Higgs boson. On the other hand, LHC will give particle physicists the possibility to explore the TeV energy scale for the first time and it will hopefully bring evidence for new phenomena that are not incorporated in the SM. The main objective of the research work presented in this proposal is the development of new theoretical tools for the calculation of multi-particle NLO scattering amplitudes, as well as the direct computation of theoretical predictions for scattering processes necessary for the interpretation of the results at the LHC. For the last two years, the PI has been working on the problem of calculating one-loop scattering amplitudes efficiently. A new method, known as OPP-reduction, has been developed. The PI will use the innovative OPP-method to compute theoretical predictions for processes of interest at the LHC. The PI will also optimize the existing numerical codes used to perform the calculations, in order to improve their efficiency and flexibility. He then hopes to automate the whole process for one-loop computations. The broader impacts are many. As a discovery machine, LHC will have a strong impact on the media. The PI will organize public presentations, not only directed to science major but to the broader community. A first presentation will explain the main features of the LHC and the challenges of the current models in particle physics and cosmology. A second presentation, ideally during the second year of activity of the LHC, will give an update on the scientific progress, at a very general level. The New York City College of Technology (CUNY) plays a leading role in the education of minorities underrepresented in the sciences and engineering. The PI will provide high-quality teaching, resources, and possibilities for students to participate in the scientific enterprise, where they can contribute with the technical skills that they developed during their studies.