Physics Beyond Standard Model with the CMS Pixel Detector

University Of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Mayaguez PR

Investigators

Abstract

One of the major intellectual achievements of the 20th century was the development of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. This model succeeded in classifying all of the elementary particles known at the time into a hierarchy of groups having similar quantum properties. The validity of this model to date was recently confirmed by the discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. However, the Standard Model as it currently exists leaves open many questions about the universe, including such fundamental questions as to why the Higgs mass has the value it has. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), operating at the CERN laboratory near Geneva Switzerland, is the premier Energy Frontier particle accelerator. It is currently one of the foremost facilities for answering Beyond the Standard Model questions and studying the properties of the Higgs boson. One of the primary functions of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the LHC is to discover new physics beyond the Standard Model. The work proposed here will analyze data from the CMS experiment, looking for signals of Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics. This award will fund two aspects of the CMS experiment: 1) further searches for BSM physics and 2) help build the CMS Phase I forward pixel detector (FPix) upgrade, which will enhance the ability of CMS to discover BSM physics. The CMS physics analysis supported by this award will focus on Supersymmetry(SUSY) and Dark Matter, both proposed BSM. A means of identifying b-quarks in the CMS data ( b-tagging) will be further developed and refined by this award. One SUSY candidate is the stop quark, the supersymmetric partner of the SM top quark. Decay products of stop quarks involve top quarks and b-tagging is the tool to find events with top quarks. In addition, events with directly produced top quarks serve as backgrounds to signal events that contain top squarks. The CMS Pixel Detector is the tool to efficiently provide precise tracking and b-tagging needed for SUSY searches. The award also provides important parts of the FPix upgrade which are being tested at FermiLab. The CMS Forward pixel upgrade will allow the precise vertex location, needed for all physics studies, even in the harsh environment (very high luminosity) expected in near future LHC running. The CMS Forward Pixel Detector uses state-of-the art silicon technology for particle detection combined with equally sophisticated readout electronics. Innovative techniques of radiation hard technology and bump bonding have been used in the current detector to meet the real estate challenges in a high radiation environment. These techniques would greatly enhance the life span of detectors used in outer space research and improve bio-sensing miniature devices for medical applications.