Experimental Studies Into The Nature of The Higgs Mechanism and Searches for New Physics with the ATLAS Experiment

通过ATLAS实验探究希格斯机制的本质并寻找新物理

• 批准号: 2111511
• 负责人: Kathryn Grimm
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: California State University, East Bay Foundation, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2111511&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Experimental; Studies; Into; Nature; Higgs

This award will provide support to a single PI group working on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC machine and ATLAS, a large particle detector facility, were built as basic science tools using funds from NSF and other agencies around the world. One of their primary objectives was to find the Higgs Boson, the last particle in the historically successful "Standard Model" (SM) that accounts for so much of the existence of, and forces between, known particles forming the matter in the universe. This effort has been successful. The next step in the experiments is to look for evidence for physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) that might, for instance, account for the presence of the mysterious "Dark Matter" that makes up so much of the mass of the universe. The LHC is currently in the midst of analyzing data from Run 2, at almost twice the energy explored earlier and with significantly increased event samples. It is possible that evidence for BSM physics could emerge at this higher energy and with the higher event statistics. Search for evidence of such physics is the goal of this project along with preparation for the next data taking period starting in late 2021.The California State University East Bay high energy physics group will use data collected by the ATLAS experiment to probe the mechanism by which fundamental particles acquire mass through electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) and to search for evidence of new physics. The group will search for pairs of Higgs bosons and other exotic particles decaying to pairs of b-quarks and pairs of tau leptons. Study of such rare events has become more viable as the center-of-mass energy of the LHC is increased to 13 TeV and the luminosity of the accelerator facility is steadily increased. In parallel, upgrades of the ATLAS detector are underway which will allow for further improvements in data recording. The Cal State East Bay group will focus on reconstruction of particle tracks and their association with primary collision vertices, important for the identification and measurement of the b-quarks and tau leptons in complex particle interactions. Collaboration is planned with the ATLAS group at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to work on the upgrade of the ATLAS tracking detector. This will include studies of radiation damage to pixel detectors used close to the intense beam line at the LHCThis research program will bring the excitement and study of high energy physics to Cal State East Bay, which is recognized as a university with one of the most diverse undergraduate student enrollments in the country. Students in the group will participate in collaborative science, data analysis, and in instrumentation testing at the group's campus laboratories and at SLAC and CERN.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.

该奖项将提供支持，以一个单一的PI组工作的ATLAS实验在大型强子对撞机（LHC）在欧洲核子研究中心，粒子物理实验室在日内瓦，瑞士。大型强子对撞机和大型粒子探测器设施ATLAS是利用NSF和世界各地其他机构的资金建造的基础科学工具。他们的主要目标之一是找到希格斯玻色子，这是历史上成功的“标准模型”（SM）中的最后一种粒子，该模型解释了宇宙中形成物质的已知粒子的存在及其之间的作用力。这一努力取得了成功。实验的下一步是寻找超越标准模型（BSM）的物理学证据，例如，可以解释构成宇宙质量的神秘“暗物质”的存在。大型强子对撞机目前正在分析运行2的数据，其能量几乎是早期探索的两倍，事件样本也显著增加。BSM物理学的证据可能会在更高的能量和更高的事件统计中出现。寻找这种物理学的证据是该项目的目标，沿着是为2021年底开始的下一个数据采集期做准备。加州州立大学东湾高能物理组将使用ATLAS实验收集的数据来探测基本粒子通过电弱对称性破缺（EWSB）获得质量的机制，并寻找新物理学的证据。该小组将寻找希格斯玻色子对和其他衰变为b夸克对和τ轻子对的奇异粒子。随着LHC的质心能量增加到13 TeV，加速器设施的亮度稳步增加，对这种罕见事件的研究变得更加可行。与此同时，正在对ATLAS探测器进行升级，以便进一步改进数据记录。加州州立大学东湾小组将专注于粒子轨道的重建及其与初级碰撞顶点的关联，这对于复杂粒子相互作用中b夸克和τ轻子的识别和测量非常重要。计划与SLAC国家加速器实验室的ATLAS小组合作，对ATLAS跟踪探测器进行升级。这将包括对LHC强光束线附近使用的像素探测器的辐射损伤的研究。该研究计划将为加州州立大学东湾带来高能物理学的兴奋和研究，该大学被公认为是全国最多样化的本科生入学大学之一。该小组的学生将参与协作科学，数据分析，并在该小组的校园实验室和SLAC和CERN的仪器测试。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。