Global QCD Analysis and Precision Electroweak Physics in High Energy Collider Phenomenology

该奖项资助密歇根州立大学(MSU)袁正平教授的研究活动。基本粒子物理学致力于确定物质的最小构件的问题。我们目前的理解是，质子和中子，以及所有其他强相互作用的粒子，都是由称为部子(夸克和胶子)的基本粒子组成的。用量子色动力学(QCD)理论描述了部分子间的强相互作用。在他的研究中，袁教授的目标是开发理论方法来从QCD理论中提取信息-信息对于解释世界各地的实验数据至关重要，包括欧洲核子研究中心(CERN)大型强子对撞机(LHC)最近的实验数据。因此，这一领域的研究通过促进科学最基本的方向之一--发现和理解新的物理定律--来促进国家利益。预计该项目还将产生更广泛的重大影响。袁教授将邀请研究生和博士后参与他的研究，从而为开始这一领域研究的初级物理学家提供关键培训。他还打算就他的研究成果进行公开讲座，并根据他的研究结果开发新的课程。更严格地说，袁教授将从对实验数据的全球分析中提取最新的CTEQ-TEA部分子分布函数(PDF)。(CTEQ是“QCD协同理论实验项目”的首字母缩写，TEA是“董等人”的缩写。)袁教授将扩展分析的理论能力，以包括高阶QCD相互作用、重夸克-质量效应、次前级量子电动力学(QED)相互作用和横向动量恢复的修正。他还将改进分析PDF不确定性和各种物理观测预测之间的相关性的技术，并调查PDF及其相关不确定性对对撞机最重要的物理过程的影响，特别是在大型强子对撞机上。在大型强子对撞机上测量W、Z、顶夸克对、单顶夸克和希格斯玻色子的产生率-包括包含率和相关的运动学分布--将为未来几年确定PDF提供重要的新资料。与此同时，对PDF的改进对于更精确地测试标准模型和探索高能对撞机上的新物理效应都是至关重要的。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award funds the research activities of Professor C.-P. Yuan at Michigan State University (MSU).Elementary-particle physics addresses the question of determining the smallest building blocks of matter. Our current understanding is that protons and neutrons, and all other strongly interacting particles, are composed of fundamental particles called partons (quarks and gluons). The strong interactions between the partons are described by the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). In his research, Professor Yuan aims to develop theoretical methods to extract information from the QCD theory --- information which is critical for interpreting experimental data around the world, including data from recent experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). As a result, research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in one of its most fundamental directions: the discovery and understanding of new physical law. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Professor Yuan will involve graduate students and postdocs in his research, and thereby provide critical training for junior physicists beginning research in this field. He also intends to give public lectures on his research results and develop new course curricula based on the results of his research.More technically, Professor Yuan will extract the most updated CTEQ-TEA Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) from a global analysis of the experimental data. (CTEQ is an acronym for "Coordinated Theoretical Experimental Project of QCD", and TEA for "Tung et al".) Professor Yuan will expand the theoretical capabilities of the analysis to include corrections from higher-order QCD interactions, heavy quark-mass effects, next-to-leading-order quantum electrodynamic (QED) interactions, and transverse momentum resummation. He will also refine the techniques for analyzing the PDF uncertainties and the correlations among the predictions of various physical observables, and investigate the implications of PDFs and their associated uncertainties on the most important physical processes at colliders, particularly at the LHC. Measurements of production rates for W, Z, top quark pairs, single top quarks and Higgs bosons at the LHC --- including both inclusive rates and relevant kinematical distributions --- will provide major new input to the determination of PDFs during the next few years. At the same time, refinements of the PDFs are crucial both for testing the Standard Model in greater precision and for probing New Physics effects at high-energy colliders.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.