Investigations in Proton-Proton Collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

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 the elementary particles known at the time into a hierarchy of groups having similar quantum properties. The validity of this model to date was confirmed by the discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). 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. One of the goals of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider which remains the premier Energy Frontier particle accelerator, operating at the CERN laboratory near Geneva Switzerland, is to discover new physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). This award will contribute to the potential discoveries of BSM in three main categories: 1) maintain the on-going operations of the ATLAS detector including trigger and calorimeter systems, 2) contribute physics analysis to both Standard Model physics (so we can recognize BSM physics) and searches for new particles which directly reveal BSM physics, 3) contribute to education and outreach efforts to explain BSM physics to non-scientists including elementary students. This award to the Michigan State University group targets physics studies under four general categories: the search for new vector bosons; the study of Higgs boson production and decay; the physics of top quarks, singly and in pairs; and the study of the strong interactions, especially jet production in association with vector bosons and heavy quarks. The group will complete work on the Tile Calorimeter Phase I upgrade which is nearing completion at CERN now. Similarly work on the Trigger for the level 1 Calorimeter envisioned for the Phase I upgrade will be completed in the first year of this award. The longer-term hardware work will be on the HL-LHC upgrade for the Tile Calorimeter, taking place over the next five years. Members of the MSU high energy physics group have traditionally had a strong involvement in education and outreach, and the group has been especially innovative in informal education. A notable element of these activities has been the development of a planetarium show on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In collaboration with other US groups on the ATLAS experiment, the group has also just developed a major planetarium production on dark matter. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.