Investigations in Proton-Proton Collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

粒子物理学考虑了从亚原子到宇宙尺度的广泛的科学问题。由该奖项支持的密歇根州立大学(MSU)小组通过在加速器上进行最高可用碰撞能量的实验来研究这些问题。这些研究与在宇宙大爆炸后极短的时间内对宇宙最基本的层次的理解有关，也与我们为什么会看到现在的宇宙有关。为了迎接这一探索的挑战，提出了新的理论，开发和建造了新的探测器和加速器，创造了新的计算和分析方法，所有这些都对短期内青年科学家的培训和长期内促进技术惠及社会产生了重大而广泛的影响。2012年，位于瑞士日内瓦的CERN大型强子对撞机(LHC)发现了希格斯玻色子，完成了粒子物理的标准模型。现在，阐明这个模型背后的动力学是粒子物理学面临的主要挑战。精密测量，特别是希格斯玻色子的产生和衰变，以及寻找新的粒子和力，主导着能量前沿任务。密歇根州立大学(MSU)粒子物理小组作为ATLAS实验的成员在大型强子对撞机上从事这项研究。该小组正在为正在进行的实验操作、新的和计划中的实验升级、大规模计算和物理分析做出重大贡献。密歇根州立大学的研究小组将其物理研究分为四个大类：寻找新的矢量玻色子；研究希格斯玻色子的产生和衰变；单夸克和成对顶夸克的物理；以及强相互作用的研究，特别是与矢量玻色子和重夸克相关的喷气产生。该小组在与理论物理学家在量子色动力学和电弱过程方面的合作方面有着良好的记录。这是对正在进行的测量的实验和理论理解之间的重要桥梁。密歇根州立大学高能物理小组的成员传统上有很强的教育和外展参与，该小组在非正式教育方面尤其创新。这些活动中一个值得注意的因素是在大型强子对撞机(LHC)的ATLAS实验上发展了一个天文展览。在ATLAS实验上与其他美国小组合作，该小组还刚刚开发了一个关于暗物质的主要天文馆产品。

Particle physics considers a vast range of scientific questions, from subatomic to cosmic scales. The Michigan State University (MSU) Group supported through this award investigates such questions through experimentation at the highest available collision energies at accelerators. These studies are relevant to the understanding of the Universe at its most fundamental level in the fleeting fraction of a second just after the Big Bang, and to why we see the Universe as we do now. To meet the challenges of this quest, new theories are advanced, new detectors and accelerators are developed and built, and new computing and analytical methodologies are created, all of which have significant broader impact for the training of young scientists in the near term and the advancement of technological benefits to society over the longer term. The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located in Geneva, Switzerland, completed the standard model of particle physics. Now elucidating the dynamics underlying this model stands as a major challenge for particle physics. Precision measurements, especially the production and decay of the Higgs boson, and searches for new particles and forces dominate the energy frontier mission. The Michigan State University (MSU) particle physics group is engaged in this research at the LHC as members of the ATLAS experiment. The group is making significant contributions to ongoing experimental operations, to new and planned upgrades of the experiment, to large-scale computing, and to physics analyses. The MSU group is targeting its physics studies under four general categories: the search for new vector bosons; the study of Higgs boson production and decay; the physics of top quarks, singly and in pairs; and the study of the strong interactions, especially jet production in association with vector bosons and heavy quarks. The group has a strong track record of collaboration with theoretical physicists on both quantum chromodynamics and electroweak processes. This is an important bridge between experimental and theoretical understanding of ongoing measurements.Members of the MSU high energy physics group have traditionally had a strong involvement in education and outreach, and the group has been especially innovative in informal education. A notable element of these activities has been the development of a planetarium show on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In collaboration with other US groups on the ATLAS experiment, the group has also just developed a major planetarium production on dark matter.