Support for experimental particle physics

实验粒子物理学在物质的最小粒子，夸克和轻子，以及它们之间作用的力的水平上解决了一些关于宇宙结构和行为的基本问题。在这个项目中，我们正在为欧洲核子研究中心大型强子对撞机的ATLAS项目的准备工作做出贡献，该项目将于2007年开始收集数据。我们正在建造和调试电子系统以及驱动它们的软件。从2007年底开始，我们将对可用的数据进行分析。特别是，我们将在数据中寻找希格斯玻色子存在的证据，希格斯玻色子是目前粒子物理标准模型中缺失的关键元素之一，以及超对称粒子，这是预计存在的。我们还计划更好地了解质子的结构。与此同时，我们正在继续研究加州斯坦福直线加速器采集的数据，以测量粒子和反粒子之间行为的细微差异，这可能是宇宙中物质存在而反物质不存在的原因。我们正在为建造线性对撞机的主要研究和开发项目做出贡献，这是一种能够以非常高的能量碰撞电子和正电子的加速器。这台机器是由一个全球合作组织提出的，它将是迄今为止建造的能量最高的正电子对撞机。我们还在进行一项研究和发展计划，研制一种将用于该加速器的探测器。

Experimental particle physics addresses some of the fundamental questions about the structure and behaviour of the Universe at the level of the smallest particles of matter, the quarks and the leptons, and the forces acting between them. In this project we are contributing to the preparation of the ATLAS project at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN that will begin taking data in 2007. We are constructing and commissioning electronic systems and the software that drives them. From late 2007 we will be analysing the data as it becomes available. In particular we will be searhing the data for evidence of the existance of the Higgs boson, one of the key missing elements of the Standard Model of particle physics at present, and for supersymmetric particles, that are expected to exist. We are also planning to understand better the structure of the proton. In parallel we are are continuing our studies of data taken at the Stanford Linear Accelerator in California to measure the subtle difference in behaviour between particles and antiparticles that may be responsible for the existence of matter but no antimatter in the Universe. We are contributing to a major research and development programme for the construction of a linear collider - an accelerator that will collide electrons and positrons at very high energy. This machine, proposed by a worldwide collaboration, will be the highest energy electron-positron collider ever built. We are also carrying out a research and development programme on a detector to be used at this accelerator.