RUI: Beyond the Standard Model: Model Building and Phenomenology

Macalester College, Saint Paul MN

Investigators

Abstract

This RUI award funds the research activities of Professor Tonnis ter Veldhuis at Macalester College. The start of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operations promises a wealth of new experimental data in the near future. This data is expected to contain important clues that will guide physicists in their quest to solve the puzzle of how Nature functions at ever-smaller scales. The objective of this research program is to design ways in which this new data can be used in order to test and further develop physical theories that have been constructed to explain how elementary particles obtain their mass. The class of theories to be considered includes those that employ supersymmetry, a new symmetry hypothesized to exist in order to explain how large differences in physical scales can be stable in the presence of quantum corrections. Parts of this RUI research program will be carried out in collaboration with students at Macalester College. The project will therefore create significant research training in the field of particle physics for undergraduate students. Through their research experience, participating students will develop a toolbox of valuable research skills that are widely applicable, and in particular form an excellent foundation to further pursue a career in theoretical or experimental particle physics in graduate school. The project thus serves as a model for the integration of teaching and research in the environment of a physics and astronomy department at a liberal arts college.