Physics at the Large Hadron Collider: Understanding Fundamental Interactions and Upgrading the CMS Experiment

这个研究项目旨在通过探索自然的基本对称性及其与质量起源的关系，在最小的尺度上更好地理解宇宙。2012年发现的希格斯玻色子既是粒子物理标准模型的最高成就，也是一个超越标准模型的暗示--如果没有新的、未被发现的物理学，一个轻的希格斯玻色子如何可能在巨大的、不稳定的量子效应中生存下来？此外，从天文观测中已知暗物质的存在；然而，暗物质的粒子性质仍然笼罩着神秘的面纱。内布拉斯加大学林肯分校(UNL)小组的联合活动解决了这些困扰科学的基本问题-质量的起源和暗物质的粒子性质-并有可能做出令人惊讶的发现，可能会改变我们理解物理世界的方式。该奖项将为UNL小组在欧洲核子研究中心(CERN)的大型强子对撞机(LHC)上开展的CMS实验提供支持。CERN是一家位于瑞士日内瓦的粒子物理实验室。该小组有广泛的物理兴趣，包括正在进行和计划中的希格斯物理测量，顶层产生和衰变，弱电物理，以及对新现象的搜索。该组织为软件和计算领域的实验提供领导，UNL为CMS运营一个第二层计算中心。从技术上讲，UNL小组正在为CMS实验的升级做出重大贡献，因为它在大型强子对撞机未来十年预见的非常高的碰撞环境中运行。他们努力的中心是建造CMS内跟踪器的前向像素探测器的一部分。这个探测器系统对于重建许多发现科学的CMS计划特别感兴趣的事件类型是至关重要的。UNL小组领导着独特的宇宙线天文台项目(CROP)推广计划。内布拉斯加州各地以高中为基础的宇宙射线研究团队利用学生建造和操作的探测器研究了广泛的空气阵雨，未来的扩展将专注于服务不足的农村人口。正在进行的CROP倡议已经成为美国、加拿大和国外类似高中宇宙射线努力的典范。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 program of research aims to better understand the Universe at the smallest scales by probing nature's basic symmetries and their relation to the origin of mass. The 2012 discovery of a Higgs boson serves as both the crowning achievement of the standard model of particle physics and a hint beyond it - how can a light Higgs boson possibly survive huge, destabilizing quantum effects without new, undiscovered physics? Further, dark matter is known to exist from astronomical observations; however, the particle properties of dark matter remain shrouded in mystery. The combined activities of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL) group address such basic questions puzzling science - the origin of mass and the particle nature of dark matter - and have the potential for surprising discoveries that may change the way we understand our physical world. This award will provide support for the UNL group's work on the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The group has a broad range of physics interests, with ongoing and planned measurements of Higgs physics, top production and decay, electroweak physics, plus searches for new phenomena. The group provides leadership to the experiment in software and computing, and UNL operates a Tier-2 computing center for CMS. Technically, the UNL group is contributing significantly to the upgrades of the CMS experiment for its operation in the very high-rate collision environments foreseen in the next decade at the LHC. Central to their efforts is the construction of parts of the Forward Pixel Detector of the CMS Inner Tracker. This detector system is critical to the reconstruction of many event types of special interest to the CMS program of discovery science. The UNL group leads the distinctive Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP) outreach program. High school-based cosmic-ray research teams around Nebraska study extensive air showers with student- built and operated detectors, and future expansion will focus on under-served rural populations. The ongoing CROP initiative has served as a model for similar high-school cosmic-ray efforts across the U.S., Canada, and abroad.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.