Research in High Energy Physics on the CMS Experiment

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

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 (LHC) at the CERN laboratory near Geneva Switzerland. However, the Standard Model as it currently exists leaves open many questions about the universe, including such fundamental questions as to why the mass of the Higgs boson has the value it has. To answer these questions it is necessary to go beyond the present picture of the Universe described by the Standard Model to the next phase of development, Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Investigations in BSM physics probe such questions as why matter dominates over anti-matter in the Universe, the values of the masses of the fundamental constituents of matter, the quarks and the leptons, the size of the mixings among the quarks, and separately among the leptons, and the properties of dark matter. The LHC is currently one of the foremost facilities for answering Beyond the Standard Model questions and studying the properties of the Higgs boson, and the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the LHC has as one of its primary functions to discover new physics beyond the Standard Model. The work proposed here will contribute to the upgrade necessary to handle the higher energy of the newly-restarted LHC and to analyze data from the CMS experiment to look for BSM physics through the search for two candidate theoretical particles for BSM physics, a heavy charged Higgs boson and the so-called Wprime particle. 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 upgrade, which will enhance the ability of CMS to discover BSM physics. The physics studies enabled by this award are the searches for Wprime and Heavy Charged Higgs, two candidate theoretical particles for BSM physics. The presence of a signal in any of these channels would have profound impact on our understanding of particle physics, while establishing its absence would provide important constraints on models of physics beyond the Standard Model. 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.