Flavor Physics at the LHC

该奖项支持麻省理工学院迈克·威廉姆斯团队在瑞士日内瓦的CERN大型强子对撞机上进行的LHCb实验的新研究计划。LHCb的主要功能是通过研究b和c强子的罕见和违反CP的衰变来寻找超越标准模型(BSM)的物理。至少在接下来的五年里，LHCb将成为世界上首屈一指的风味物理实验。在最近的过去，威廉姆斯一直是LHCb高级触发器(HLT)的主要设计师之一。这一触发器使LHCb在2011年和2012年的实验操作期间收集了近100%的纯b-bbar样本。PI编写了这个触发器，使麻省理工学院作为一个小组唯一有资格准备实验，以应对未来的运行条件，包括13TeV的碰撞能量和显著更高的光度。麻省理工学院在外展方面有很好的记录，Pi Williams将在这一传统的基础上建立与LHCb项目的联系。在过去的6个暑假里，汉普顿大学NSF资助的REU项目的本科生参加了麻省理工学院暑期研究项目(MSRP)。这些学生由麻省理工学院核科学实验室(LNS)的成员监督，并与LNS的各种教职员工和学生互动。这个项目为少数民族学生提供了一个独特的机会，让他们体验大型研究所的生活。从2013年夏天开始，该项目的学生将能够使用LHCb数据进行香料物理研究。

This award supports a new program of research by the MIT group of Mike Williams on the LHCb Experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, Geneva, Switzerland. The primary function of LHCb is to search for physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM) by studying rare and CP-violating decays of b and c hadrons. For at least the next five years, LHCb will be the premier flavor-physics experiment in the world. Williams has been one of the principal architects of the high-level trigger (HLT) for LHCb in the recent past. This trigger allowed LHCb to collect a nearly 100% pure b-bbar sample during experimental operations in 2011 and 2012. The PI wrote this trigger, making MIT uniquely qualified as a group to prepare the experiment to handle future running conditions, including a collision energy of 13-TeV and significantly higher luminosity. MIT has a strong record in outreach, and PI Williams will build upon this tradition with links to the LHCb program. Over the past 6 summers, undergraduate students from the NSF-supported REU program at Hampton University have participated in the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP). These students are supervised by members of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS) and interact with various LNS faculty, staff and students. This program provides a unique opportunity for minority students to experience life at a large research institute. Beginning in the summer of 2013, students from this program will be able to do flavor-physics research using LHCb data.