Experimental Particle Physics Research at SUNY Albany

该奖项将为由一名 PI、一名博士后和一名学生组成的团队提供支持，在瑞士日内瓦粒子物理实验室 CERN 的大型强子对撞机 (LHC) 上开展 ATLAS 实验。大型强子对撞机是一台大型复杂的机器，可以将质子加速到前所未有的能量，从而可以发现比迄今为止观察到的任何质量更大的基本粒子。大型强子对撞机最近的发现之一是寻找希格斯玻色子的候选者，希格斯玻色子是历史上成功的“标准模型”（SM）中的最后一个粒子，该模型以惊人的准确性解释了所观察到的形成宇宙中可见物质的粒子的相互作用。 下一步是利用 LHC 寻找超越标准模型 (BSM) 的物理证据，以解决 SM 中已知存在的困难。 该小组将继续开展 ATLAS 实验，以寻找希格斯粒子的衰变，因为大型强子对撞机开始以以前研究过的两倍能量运行。 PI将继续通过在大型强子对撞机上为奥尔巴尼的高中生和大学荣誉学院的学生举办物理学讲座、在当地影院放映电影《粒子狂热》后组织和举行问答环节以及参加美国物理学会举办的在线“收养物理学家”计划等活动，继续传播希格斯粒子的发现所带来的兴奋，以此吸引学生进入科学研究。 大型强子对撞机已经成功完成了一次运行。在此期间，希格斯玻色子的候选者被发现，这是一个重大胜利。尽管疑虑依然存在，但许多物理学家相信这个新粒子就是 SM 长期以来预测的希格斯玻色子。然而，需要对其更罕见的衰变模式进行更仔细的测量。 BSM 效应可能会带来惊喜。此外，可能存在不止一个希格斯粒子。该小组拥有分析希格斯衰变特性的专业知识。该小组将通过 Run2 继续开展 ATLAS 实验。分析将重点关注 Run1 中揭示的希格斯粒子到 t-tbar 夸克喷流对的衰变。该集团将继续改进和扩展软件工具。他们还将研究内部硅跟踪器的布局设计，这是 ATLAS 高亮度升级的一部分。这些布局旨在最大限度地提高在充满挑战的 ATLAS 升级环境中寻找和重建带电轨道的效率。

This award will provide support for a group with one PI, a postdoc and a student to work on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is a large, complex machine that accelerates protons to unprecedented energies, allowing for discovery of elementary particles more massive than any yet observed. One of the LHC's recent discoveries was to find a candidate for the Higgs Boson, the last particle in the historically successful "Standard Model" (SM) that accounts with amazing accuracy for the observed interactions of particles forming the visible matter in the universe. The next step is to capitalize on the LHC to look for evidence for physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) to address difficulties known to exist in the SM. This group will continue to work on the ATLAS experiment to look for decays of the Higgs particle as the LHC begins operations at twice the energy ever studied before. The PI will continue to communicate the excitement that the Higgs discovery generated as a means of attracting students into the study of science through such activities as giving lectures on Physics at the LHC to high school students in Albany and the Honors College students at the university, organizing and holding Q&A sessions after the screening of the movie "Particle Fever" in local area theaters, and participating in the online "Adopt-a-Physicist" program run by the American Physical Society. The LHC has completed one successful run. During this, a candidate for the Higgs Boson was found, a major triumph. Though doubts linger, many physicists believe the new particle is the Higgs Boson long predicted by the SM. Nevertheless, more careful measurements of its rarer decay modes need to be made. Surprises are possible, and could result from BSM effects. Also, there could be more than one Higgs particle. This group has expertise in analysis of the properties of Higgs decays. The group will continue to work on the ATLAS experiment through Run2. Analyses will focus on decays of the Higgs particle revealed in Run1 to t-tbar quark jet pairs. The group will continue to improve and expand the software tools. They will also study layout designs for the inner Silicon tracker, part of the ATLAS high luminosity upgrade. These layouts will aim to maximize the efficiency for finding and reconstructing charged tracks in the challenging ATLAS upgrade environment.