Experimental High Energy Particle Physics Research at UCL

伦敦大学学院实验高能粒子物理研究

• 批准号: PP/E000452/1
• 负责人: Mark Lancaster
• 金额: $ 729.36万
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2006 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=PP%2FE000452%2F1
• 关键词: Experimental; Energy; Particle; Physics; Research

Experimental particle physics is about looking at extremely small sizes, or equivalently extremely high energies. It teaches us about the underlying nature of the physical universe, and the forces and laws that govern its development, from the first moments of the big bang, through to the present day, and far into the future. Particle physics has led to many revolutionary ideas, which have had a profound impact upon the way we think about ourselves and the world. One reason for the power of these ideas is that they are grounded in and tested by actual scientific observations of the world around us - that is, experiment. Without experiment, science is dead. Experiments capable of reaching these extremes of energy and size are very technically challenging. The challenges include devising precision detectors which can operate in hostile environments, particle accelerators which can achieve high energy collisions, super-sensitive detectors capable of identifying very rare decays with very small 'background noise', high-speed electronics which can read out millions of pieces of information per second, and robust, flexible software which can analyse the data in a distributed computing system all over the world. Thus another consequence of an active particle physics activity is a stimulation of technological developments and the training of people skilled in the development and use of high technology. This is a 'rolling grant', which means that it covers a broad variety of particle physics experiments. The rolling grant underpins the base of highly skilled research and technical staff which makes UCL able to be a leader in experimental physics at the very highest levels. It provides a measure of career security, as well as travel and equipment money. This also allows the group to function effectively in the training of PhD students, and we are in fact bidding to fund several PhD students on this grant. The science this grant will support includes: - Analysis of electron-proton collisions using the ZEUS detector at the HERA collider in Hamburg, which is telling us more and more about the internal structure of the proton and the photon, and about the strong nuclear force which holds the proton together. - Analysis of proton-antiproton collisions with the CDF detector at the Tevatron collider in Chicago, where precision measurements of the W boson (which carries the weak nuclear force), studies of the super-heavy top quark, and a search for the Higgs boson are underway. - Analysis of neutrino oscillations from the MINOS experiment in Chicago. The mysterious neutrino was once thought to be massless but is now known to have mass - MINOS will make the most precise measurement of the mixing between the different 'flavours' of neutrino. - Commisioning of the ATLAS detector at CERN, and analysis of the first date from the LHC. The LHC is the first collider to operate above the 'energy horizon' above which the weak and electromagentic forces are unified. As well as the Higgs, the LHC may find supersymmetry, extra spatial dimensions, or other exotica we have not even imagined. - Analysis of data from the NEMO-III experiment, a super-sensitive detector under a mountain in France searching for 'neutrinoless double beta decay'. If found, this rare process would not only provide the best measurement by far of the neutrino's mass, but would also prove that unlike all other particles, the neutrino is its own antiparticle. If true, this would give a big clue to physics at the 'grand unification' scale, where all forces are (perhaps!) unified. We also have other neutrino projects, work on the proposed international linear collider, and some theoretical activities, all largely funded on other grants. These projects benefit greatly from being co-sited with the rolling grant. All these projects contribute to the intellectually exciting environment that is UCL high energy physics.

实验粒子物理学是关于观察极小的尺寸，或同等的极高的能量。它告诉我们物理宇宙的基本性质，以及控制其发展的力量和定律，从大爆炸的最初时刻，一直到今天，直到遥远的未来。粒子物理学带来了许多革命性的思想，对我们思考自己和世界的方式产生了深远的影响。这些想法之所以具有力量，原因之一是它们植根于对我们周围世界的实际科学观察（即实验）并通过其检验。没有实验，科学就死了。能够达到这些极端能量和尺寸的实验在技术上非常具有挑战性。这些挑战包括设计可在恶劣环境中运行的精密探测器、可实现高能碰撞的粒子加速器、能够以非常小的“背景噪声”识别非常罕见的衰变的超灵敏探测器、每秒可读出数百万条信息的高速电子设备，以及可分析世界各地分布式计算系统中的数据的强大、灵活的软件。因此，活跃的粒子物理活动的另一个后果是刺激技术发展和培训开发和使用高科技的技术人员。这是一项“滚动资助”，这意味着它涵盖了各种各样的粒子物理实验。滚动资助巩固了高技能研究和技术人员的基础，使伦敦大学学院能够成为实验物理学最高水平的领导者。它提供了一定程度的职业保障以及旅行和设备费用。这也使得该小组能够在博士生培训方面有效发挥作用，实际上我们正在竞标用这笔赠款资助几名博士生。这笔赠款将支持的科学包括： - 使用汉堡 HERA 对撞机上的 ZEUS 探测器分析电子-质子碰撞，它告诉我们越来越多关于质子和光子的内部结构，以及将质子结合在一起的强核力。 - 使用芝加哥 Tevatron 对撞机的 CDF 探测器分析质子-反质子碰撞，其中正在进行 W 玻色子（携带弱核力）的精确测量、超重顶夸克的研究以及希格斯玻色子的搜索。 - 芝加哥 MINOS 实验的中微子振荡分析。这种神秘的中微子曾经被认为是无质量的，但现在已知它具有质量——MINOS将对中微子不同“味道”之间的混合进行最精确的测量。 - 在欧洲核子研究组织 (CERN) 调试 ATLAS 探测器，并对大型强子对撞机 (LHC) 的第一个数据进行分析。大型强子对撞机是第一台在“能量地平线”之上运行的对撞机，在该能量地平线之上弱力和电磁力是统一的。除了希格斯粒子之外，大型强子对撞机可能会发现超对称性、额外的空间维度或其他我们从未想象过的奇异现象。 - 对 NEMO-III 实验的数据进行分析，NEMO-III 是法国一座山下的超灵敏探测器，旨在寻找“中微子双贝塔衰变”。如果被发现，这种罕见的过程不仅将提供迄今为止对中微子质量的最佳测量，而且还将证明与所有其他粒子不同，中微子是它自己的反粒子。如果这是真的，这将为“大统一”尺度的物理学提供重要线索，所有力量（也许！）统一。我们还有其他中微子项目、拟议的国际线性对撞机的工作以及一些理论活动，所有这些都主要由其他赠款资助。这些项目受益于与滚动拨款的共址。所有这些项目都为伦敦大学学院高能物理创造了令人兴奋的智力环境。

项目成果

Measurement of the production cross-section of a single top quark in association with a $Z$ boson in proton--proton collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

• DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2018.03.023
• 发表时间: 2017-10
• 作者: Atlas Collaboration

Search for new phenomena in high-mass final states with a photon and a jet from $$pp$$ pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s}$$ s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

使用 ATLAS 探测器从 $$sqrt{s}$$ s = 13 TeV 处的 $$pp$$ pp 碰撞中搜索光子和射流的高质量最终状态中的新现象

• DOI: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-018-5553-2
• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: The European Physical Journal C
• 作者: Aaboud M