Consolidated Grant 2012-2016, Particle Physics Group, The University of Manchester

曼彻斯特大学的粒子物理学小组研究基本粒子及其与主要国际研究中心实验的相互作用。这项研究是在国际合作中进行的，涵盖了实验粒子物理的方方面面：新探测器概念的开发，大型实验的设计、建造和操作以及数据的分析。曼彻斯特粒子物理小组在欧洲核子研究中心的大型强子对撞机(LHC)的两个主要实验中发挥着主导作用，LHC产生目前加速器中可获得的最高能量的质子-质子碰撞。在ATLAS和LHCb实验上，我们以前所未有的精度检验了粒子物理的标准模型，并在标准模型之外寻找新的物理。这些研究包括测量强相互作用和弱电相互作用的性质，以及寻找新的粒子，如希格斯玻色子或重中微子。我们在ATLAS的另一个研究重点是研究已知的最重夸克-顶夸克的性质，曼彻斯特粒子物理小组在芝加哥的Tevatron加速器进行D0实验具有多年的经验。LHCb实验旨在研究由较重的底部和魅力夸克组成的粒子的性质。对它们的产生和衰变的详细研究为新物理学提供了一个窗口，并使我们能够研究基本问题，如宇宙中的物质-反物质不对称。我们也在积极准备未来改进ATLAS和LHCb实验。了解难以捉摸的中微子的性质是我们研究计划的另一个优先事项。利用位于莫丹地下实验室的NEMO-3和SuperNEMO探测器，我们寻找无中微子双β衰变，这是一个以前从未观察到的过程。它的观测将表明，中微子是它们自己的反粒子，它将提供中微子质量的测量。另一种名为MINOS的实验通过在芝加哥的费米实验室和明尼苏达州的一个矿之间的长距离探测不同类型的中微子之间的振荡来研究它们之间的振荡。还提出了参与未来新的中微子实验和彗星/棱镜计划，该计划将寻找介子和电子之间的类似转换。现代粒子物理实验包含检测粒子的尖端技术。曼彻斯特集团领导了一项关于开发新型探测设备的广泛研究计划，例如三维硅探测器或钻石探测器。除了粒子物理研究之外，这些新技术在医学物理或安全应用等领域还有许多潜在的应用。最后，通过我们的外展方案，我们通过电视和广播节目、书籍和讲座向公众传播我们的研究成果。

The Particle Physics Group at the University of Manchester studies fundamental particles and their interactions with experiments based at major international research centres. This research is performed in international collaborations and covers all aspects of experimental particle physics: the development of novel detector concepts, the design, construction and operation of large experiments and the analysis of the data.The Manchester Particle Physics Group plays a leading role on two of the main experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which produces proton-proton collisions at the highest energies currently accessible in accelerators. On the ATLAS and LHCb experiments, we test the Standard Model of Particle Physics with unprecedented precision and search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. These studies include measurements of the properties of the strong and electroweak interactions and the search for new particles, such as Higgs bosons or heavy neutrinos. Another focus of our research at ATLAS is the study of the properties of the heaviest of all known quarks, the top quark, where the Manchester Particle Physics Group has many years of experience from working on the D0 experiment at the Tevatron accelerator in Chicago. The LHCb experiment is designed to study the properties of particles that are built from the heavier bottom and charm quarks. Detailed studies of their production and decays provide a window to new physics and allow us to study fundamental questions such as the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. We are also active on preparing future improvements to both the ATLAS and LHCb experiments.Understanding the properties of the elusive neutrino is another priority of our research programme. With the NEMO-3 and SuperNEMO detectors, located in the Modane Underground Laboratory, we search for neutrinoless double beta decay, a process that has never been observed before. Its observation would indicate that neutrinos are their own antiparticles and it will provide a measurement of the neutrino mass. A different kind of experiment, MINOS, studies the oscillation between different types of neutrinos by detecting them over a long distance between Fermilab in Chicago and a mine in Minnesota. Involvement in future new neutrino experiments and the COMET/PRISM project, that will look for similar transformations between muons and electrons, are also proposed. Modern Particle Physics experiments contain sophisticated technology to detect particles. The Manchester Group leads an extensive reasearch programme on developing novel detection devices, such as 3-dimensional silicon detectors or diamond detectors. These novel technologies have many potential applications beyond Particle Physics research in areas such as medical physics or security applications. Finally, through our outreach programme, we communicate the results of our research to the public through television and radio programmes, books and lectures.