The ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider

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CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has the highest direct energy reach of any particle physics facility, and Canada's central role in the ATLAS collaboration keeps us at the forefront of international particle physics. Following the discovery of the Higgs boson during the initial phase of operations (Run 1) and a two-year long shutdown period for improvements to the accelerator and detector, the LHC resumed operation with the start of "Run 2" in spring 2015, at an increased collision energy of 13 TeV. The accelerator has been running exceptionally well, with the design specifications for the collision intensity (luminosity) met and then surpassed in June 2016. While the discovery of the Higgs boson was a remarkable achievement, it only scratches the surface of the potential physics reach of ATLAS and the LHC, which were designed from the outset to probe for signatures of new physics at the TeV scale that could "stabilize" the vacuum and address deficiencies of the Standard Model. Achieving the full potential of ATLAS requires more data and thus higher collision intensities, implying the need for further accelerator and detector upgrades, along with sophisticated analyses of the proton-proton collision data recorded by ATLAS. The three-year period covered by this proposal corresponds to the final year of Run 2, and the two years of “Long Shutdown 2” (LS2) during which further improvements will be made to the LHC, to increase the luminosity, and “Phase-1” upgrades of the ATLAS detector, in which Canada plays a leading role, will be completed and installed. We are also preparing for “Phase-2” upgrades of the detector that will be necessary for operation at the High-Luminosity LHC starting in 2026. The completion of Run 2 will provide a large high-energy data sample that will form the basis of a rich scientific output over the coming years, in the form of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model, improved understanding of the Higgs boson, and precision measurements of other Standard Model processes. Work on the Phase-1 and Phase-2 upgrades is an investment in the future of ATLAS, and presents an increasingly rare opportunity for students to be involved in the design, construction and testing of new detector components. For the period covered by this proposal, via work on analysis of the Run-2 data, and work on ATLAS upgrades, we are ensuring that we reap the benefits of our significant past investments in ATLAS and the LHC, and ensuring its future for the next two decades, all while training the next generation of Canadian particle physicists. Given the schedule for operations and LS2 activities, this request is focused on detector operations and upgrades, as well as computing operations and physics analysis. It includes postdoctoral fellow and student support, travel to CERN for expert activities and physics meetings, CERN subsistence for CERN-based personnel, and travel for physics meetings and conferences.