Experimental Particle Physics Research at SUNY Albany

该奖项将为一个由一名PI，一名博士后和一名学生组成的小组提供支持，以在瑞士日内瓦的粒子物理实验室CERN的大型强子对撞机（LHC）上进行ATLAS实验。大型强子对撞机是一台大型复杂的机器，它可以将质子加速到前所未有的能量，从而发现比任何观测到的都更大的基本粒子。LHC最近的发现之一是找到希格斯玻色子的候选者，希格斯玻色子是历史上成功的“标准模型”（SM）中的最后一种粒子，该模型以惊人的准确性解释了观察到的形成宇宙中可见物质的粒子相互作用。 下一步是利用LHC寻找超越标准模型（BSM）的物理学证据，以解决SM中已知存在的困难。 该小组将继续进行ATLAS实验，以寻找希格斯粒子的衰变，因为LHC开始以两倍于以前研究的能量运行。 PI将继续传播希格斯发现所产生的兴奋，作为吸引学生学习科学的一种手段，通过这样的活动，如在大型强子对撞机上为奥尔巴尼的高中生和大学的荣誉学院学生举办物理讲座，&在当地剧院放映电影“粒子热”后组织和举行问答会，并参加了由美国物理学会举办的在线“物理学家”项目。 LHC已经成功运行了一次。在此期间，希格斯玻色子的候选者被发现，这是一个重大的胜利。虽然怀疑仍然存在，但许多物理学家认为新粒子是SM长期预测的希格斯玻色子。尽管如此，还需要对其更罕见的衰变模式进行更仔细的测量。意外是可能的，可能是由BSM效应引起的。此外，可能存在不止一个希格斯粒子。这个小组在分析希格斯衰变的性质方面有专门知识。该小组将继续进行ATLAS实验，直到运行2。分析将集中在运行1到t-tbar夸克喷流对中揭示的希格斯粒子的衰变。该小组将继续改进和扩大软件工具。他们还将研究内部硅跟踪器的布局设计，这是ATLAS高光度升级的一部分。这些布局旨在最大限度地提高在具有挑战性的ATLAS升级环境中寻找和重建带电轨道的效率。

This award will provide support for a group with one PI, a postdoc and a student to work on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is a large, complex machine that accelerates protons to unprecedented energies, allowing for discovery of elementary particles more massive than any yet observed. One of the LHC's recent discoveries was to find a candidate for the Higgs Boson, the last particle in the historically successful "Standard Model" (SM) that accounts with amazing accuracy for the observed interactions of particles forming the visible matter in the universe. The next step is to capitalize on the LHC to look for evidence for physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) to address difficulties known to exist in the SM. This group will continue to work on the ATLAS experiment to look for decays of the Higgs particle as the LHC begins operations at twice the energy ever studied before. The PI will continue to communicate the excitement that the Higgs discovery generated as a means of attracting students into the study of science through such activities as giving lectures on Physics at the LHC to high school students in Albany and the Honors College students at the university, organizing and holding Q&A sessions after the screening of the movie "Particle Fever" in local area theaters, and participating in the online "Adopt-a-Physicist" program run by the American Physical Society. The LHC has completed one successful run. During this, a candidate for the Higgs Boson was found, a major triumph. Though doubts linger, many physicists believe the new particle is the Higgs Boson long predicted by the SM. Nevertheless, more careful measurements of its rarer decay modes need to be made. Surprises are possible, and could result from BSM effects. Also, there could be more than one Higgs particle. This group has expertise in analysis of the properties of Higgs decays. The group will continue to work on the ATLAS experiment through Run2. Analyses will focus on decays of the Higgs particle revealed in Run1 to t-tbar quark jet pairs. The group will continue to improve and expand the software tools. They will also study layout designs for the inner Silicon tracker, part of the ATLAS high luminosity upgrade. These layouts will aim to maximize the efficiency for finding and reconstructing charged tracks in the challenging ATLAS upgrade environment.