Physics Beyond the Standard Model

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the research and professional activities of Professors Elizabeth H. Simmons and R. Sekhar Chivukula at UC San Diego. During the award period, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will commence a third extended run which will collect substantially more data than has been available to date, significantly extending our reach for discovering new constituents of matter and uncovering new physical principles. Professors Chivukula and Simmons will investigate whether there are extra spatial dimensions which are too small to have been discovered thus far and examine the experimental implications for such extra-dimensional theories at the LHC. Professors Simmons and Chivukula will construct and analyze new theories which describe the nature and properties of the Higgs Boson and the top quark (the two most massive fundamental particles discovered so far), and delineate the best experimental analyses for swiftly and decisively elucidating the nature of any new dynamics discovered at the LHC. They will also explore the complementarity between LHC results and other experimental searches for new physics, including those designed to uncover the nature of the dark matter which comprises most of the mass in our galaxy. These investigations are in the national interest since they will promote the progress of science through the examination of the fundamental forces of nature. This work will also have substantial broader impact. Professors Simmons and Chivukula will focus on improving student access and success and on the development of new and continuing physics courses at UC San Diego, including classes on the causes of and solutions for underrepresentation in physics. The PIs will also engage in public presentations on science to audiences of all ages, in extensive work to improve the environment in physics for all participants, and in continued service to UC San Diego and the national and international physics community. This research project will also involve students and postdoctoral researchers and thereby contribute to the training and development of the next generation of scientists in the US. More technically, Professors Simmons and Chivukula will combine particle searches with those from other experiments, including those probing potential lepton flavor violation and searching for dark matter. They will also study the theory and phenomenology of top-partner states which are predicted in numerous composite-Higgs models and examine novel strategies for discovering these states at the LHC and other experimental facilities. 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.