Experimental Flavor Physics

20世纪最重要的智力成就之一是粒子物理学标准模型（SM）的发展。这个模型成功地将当时已知的所有基本粒子划分为具有相似量子特性的等级。这个模型的有效性最近在瑞士日内瓦附近的欧洲核子研究中心（CERN）实验室的大型强子对撞机（LHC）上发现了希格斯玻色子，从而得到了证实。然而，目前存在的标准模型留下了许多关于宇宙的问题。这些问题包括为什么物质在宇宙中支配反物质（CP违反），物质的基本成分、夸克和轻子的质量值，夸克之间和轻子之间混合的大小，以及暗物质的性质。大多数解释需要新的力的存在和概念的发展，这些概念现在构成了我们所说的超越标准模型（BSM）的物理学。该奖项支持那些解决主导BSM物理学问题的研究。这项研究将在大型强子对撞机上进行，它是世界上首屈一指的高能物理粒子加速器，也是回答这些BSM问题的最重要的设施之一。LHCb是第一个专门设计用于研究强子对撞机中含有b或c夸克的强子衰变的实验。LHCb的目标是通过检测含有这些夸克的强子的性质来识别自然界中的新物理。新的物理或新的力是由尚未发现的粒子表现出来的，它们将改变衰变速率和CP违反不对称，从而允许间接观察到新的现象。在直接寻找新粒子时，加速器的能量必须高到足以产生新粒子。在间接搜索中，即使新粒子的质量比直接观察到的高得多，也能看到它们的效应，因为这种效应本质上是量子的，并且出现在费曼图中，粒子是“虚的”，因此它们在短时间内发射和吸收。LHCb从2010年底开始非常成功地运行。该奖项将允许研究重夸克系统的罕见衰变。这些衰变在能量尺度上为物理学提供了一个独特的窗口，远远超出了在对撞机上明确产生新粒子所能达到的范围。随着CMS和ATLAS对新物理的限制增加，这一点变得越来越重要，唯一的窗口可能是对罕见衰变的研究。这项工作将主要集中在魅力夸克物理学上，这是该小组的专长。这些粲子通道可以显示CP违反和其他宇称违反不对称中的BSM物理。BSM物理学的任何发现都将是我们对宇宙基本物理学的理解向前迈出的一大步。此外，该合同将促进正在进行的LHCb探测器升级的一小部分，这将提高探测器的整体能力，以充分利用LHC数据。

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. These include why matter dominates over anti-matter in the Universe (CP violation), 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. Most explanations require the presence of new forces and the development of concepts that now constitute what we call physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). This award supports research that addresses those questions that dominate BSM physics. The research will be carried out at the LHC, which is the premier High Energy Physics particle accelerator in the world and one of the foremost facilities for answering these BSM questions.LHCb is the first experiment designed specifically to study the decays of hadrons containing b or c quarks at a hadron collider. The goal of LHCb is to identify new physics in nature by examining the properties of hadrons containing these quarks. New physics, or new forces, are manifest by particles, as yet to be discovered, which would modify decay rates and CP violating asymmetries, and thus allow new phenomena to be observed indirectly. In direct searches for new particles, the accelerator's energy must be high enough to allow the particle to be produced. In indirect searches effects of new particles can be seen even if they have a much higher mass than can be seen directly, because the effects are quantum in nature, and appear in Feynman diagrams where the particles are" virtual", so they are emitted and absorbed over short times.LHCb has operated very successfully starting in late 2010. This award will allow the study of rare decays of heavy quark systems. These decays provide a unique window into physics at an energy scale well beyond that accessible by explicit production of new particles at colliders. This is increasingly important as the limits for new physics by CMS and ATLAS increase, the only window may turn out to be in the studies of rare decays. This work will concentrate mostly on charm quark physics, the expertise of the group. These charm channels can show BSM physics in CP violation and other parity violating asymmetries. Any discovery of BSM physics would be a huge step forward in our understanding of the fundamental physics of the universe. In addition, this award will facilitate a small part of the ongoing LHCb detector upgrade that will improve the overall ability of the detector to fully exploit the LHC data.