EAGER: Beam particle tracking for the MUSE experiment at PSI

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The National Science Foundation uses the Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) funding mechanism to support exploratory work in its early stages on untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas or approaches. This EAGER project was awarded as a result of the invitation in the Dear Colleague Letter NSF 16-080 to proposers from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to submit proposals that would strengthen research capacity of faculty at the institution. The project at Hampton University aims to pursue the task of beam particle tracking with a Gas Electron Multiplier detector system for the MUon Scattering Experiment (MUSE) at the Paul-Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. The project outcome can have significant impact in the field of nuclear and particle physics and may lead to basic new knowledge in that field. Graduate students are involved in this activity.The Muon Scattering Experiment (MUSE) will provide key insights to the so-called proton radius puzzle - the seven-standard deviation discrepancy between proton charge radius measurements with electronic and muonic probes, respectively. Possible explanations also include new physics beyond the Standard Model. The MUSE experiment aims to address one of the most pressing questions in nuclear and particle science to date. MUSE uses mixed muon and electron beams of either charge to make precise measurements of the lepton-proton elastic scattering cross sections and proton form factors, with the goal to extract the proton charge radius for each probe. This requires precise measurements of the scattering angles necessitating the tracking of individual beam particles in a way not done before at low beam energies. This project focuses on the challenging task of high-resolution beam particle tracking at MUSE with Gas Electron Multiplier detectors in a high-rate environment.This project is co-funded by the Directorates for Education & Human Resources and Mathematical & Physical Sciences, as well as the Office of International Science and Engineering.