Capital Equipment in connection with the Sheffield particle physics CG 2015

现在是粒子物理学和粒子天体物理学发现的特殊时期。这里提出的设备建议旨在支持我们希望在谢菲尔德进行的研究，这是这项奋进的核心。它与我们2015-2019年期间的STFC综合赠款方案申请密切相关。我们最近的工作中最重要的是参与了ATLAS对希格斯玻色子粒子的发现。该小组的成员领导并帮助开发了该发现所基于的关键4轻子分析。这项工作将继续进行，但为了未来做好准备，我们正在寻找的设备对于扩大我们在ATLAS升级计划中的通用作用至关重要，以构建新ATLAS跟踪器的关键组件。我们参与日本的T2 K实验也大大受益于非零的第三中微子混合角的确认，这是我们理解中微子的基础。该小组在T2 K中微子分析方面的受人尊敬的工作，特别是所谓的充电电流和中性电流事件，也将继续进行。然而，在令人兴奋的新结果的支持下，我们的资本要求是允许我们参与下一代长基线中微子实验的关键，这些实验旨在解开宇宙中反物质的奥秘，特别是使用美国的LBNE/F和日本的Hyper-K。为此，我们将特别关注探测器的建造，所要求的设备将是支撑这一点的关键。例如，我们计划在费米实验室的前体LAr 1-ND实验中开展领先工作，我们将为探测器构建中央阳极平面阵列。与此同时，我们需要扩大我们领先的液氩研发。所要求的净化器和杂质监测装置将使我们能够在这一领域产生领先的结果，例如关于液氩中电荷输运的物理学。这也将使我们能够在新的基于CERN的中微子平台和LBNE/F本身建立新的探测器原型。对于粒子天体物理学，我们计划在探测暗物质方面做出新的努力，暗物质被认为占宇宙的90%。这里有强烈的动机，因为美国LUX实验最近产生了对暗物质粒子敏感性的阶跃变化。支持我们的计算硬件将使我们能够领导EDELWEISS实验的分析，然后领导即将在美国进行的LZ实验的关键模拟。我们在对银河系特征敏感的探测器方面的开创性工作也可以通过这种方式得到支持。这包括在Boulby进行的DRIFT方向敏感实验和新的DM-ICE 250 NaI实验，美国合作者最近同意将在Boubly主持该实验，以寻求暗物质的年度调制信号。与此同时，我们的通用检测器研发和知识交流计划对于巩固集团的专业知识和技能基础至关重要。所要求的设备主要用于材料的放射性分析，这样我们就可以保持对稀有背景的领先研究，这些背景阻碍了许多稀有事件实验，但也与工业有关。例如氡检测。这可以得益于我们与博尔比深地下科学实验室的历史联系。其他可从资本项目中受益的领域，特别是所需的电子产品，包括我们的气候变化μ子断层扫描项目，新型电机控制电子产品的衍生工作以及我们的新型焊接技术。后者特别需要所要求的最先进的车间机器。我们长期致力于为中微子物理学开发液氩技术，这也与医学成像要求有关。所要求的数据采集和分析仪器可以极大地帮助完成一个新的原型仪器，建立在MRC投资的基础上，以及我们的核心中微子计划。

Now is an exceptional time for discoveries in particle physics and particle astrophysics. The equipment proposal made here is designed to support the research we wish to conduct at Sheffield that is at the heart of this endeavor. It is closely associated with our STFC consolidated grant programme request for the period 2015-2019. Foremost amongst our work recently has been involvement in the discovery by ATLAS of a Higgs boson particle. Members of the group led and helped to develop the key 4-lepton analysis upon which the discovery was based. This work will continue but, preparing for the future, the equipment we are seeking will be critical to expanding our generic role in the ATLAS upgrade programme to build key components of a new ATLAS tracker. Our involvement in the T2K experiment in Japan also greatly benefited from confirmation of a non-zero third neutrino mixing angle, a result fundamental to our understanding of the neutrino. The group's respected work in neutrino analyses for T2K, particularly of so-called charge current and neutral current events, will also continue. However, here, bolstered by the exciting new results, our capital request is key to allowing us to participate in next generation long baseline neutrino experiments for CP violation aimed to unravel the mystery of antimatter in the Universe, notably using LBNE/F in the US and Hyper-K in Japan. For these our particular focus will be on detector construction and the requested equipment will be critical to underpinning this. For instance, we plan leading work on the precursor LAr1-ND experiment at Fermilab where we will construct the central Anode Plane Array for the detector. In parallel we need to expand our pioneering liquid argon R&D. The purifier and impurity monitoring apparatus requested will allow us to produce leading results in this area, for instance on the physics of charge transport in liquid argon. This will also allow us to establish novel detector prototypes at the new CERN-based neutrino platform and for LBNE/F itself. For particle astrophysics we plan to develop new efforts on detection of dark matter, thought to comprise 90% of the Universe. There is strong motivation here because the US LUX experiment recently produced a step-change in sensitivity to dark matter particles. Supporting our computing hardware will enable us to lead analysis for the EDELWEISS experiment and then lead key simulations for the upcoming LZ experiment in the US. Our pioneering work on detectors with sensitivity to galactic signatures can also be supported this way. This includes the DRIFT direction sensitive experiment at Boulby and the new DM-ICE250 NaI experiment, which US collaborators recently agreed will be hosted at Boubly to seek an annual modulation signal for dark matter. Meanwhile, our generic detector R&D and knowledge exchange programme is vital to underpinning the group's expertise and skills-base. The requested equipment focused on radio-assay of materials is required so that we can maintain leading studies of rare backgrounds that hinder many rare-event experiments, but that also have relevance in industry. For instance radon detection. This can benefit from our historic links to the Boulby deep underground science laboratory. Other areas that can benefit from the capital programme, particularly in the electronics items requested, include our muon tomography projects for climate change, spin-out work on novel motor control electronics and our novel welding technology. The latter requires, in particular, the new state of the art workshop machines requested. Our long-standing efforts to develop liquid argon technology for neutrino physics are also relevant to medical imaging requirements. The data acquisition and analytical instrumentation requested can greatly aid this to complete a new prototype instrument, building on MRC investment, as well for our core neutrino programme.