Experimental Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2015 - capital equipment

粒子物理学，特别是对最近发现的希格斯玻色子的性质的探索，是当前公众意识的主流。随着欧洲核子研究中心大型强子对撞机（LHC）即将重新启动，以更大的能量范围来寻找新现象，该领域从未有过如此激动人心的时刻。伯明翰有一个平衡的计划，利用LHC在能量和精度方面的全面影响，以及CERN加速器综合体独特能力的其他方面。我们研究在这些实验中观察到的粒子碰撞和衰变，目的是确定物质的最终结构和自然力。我们在ATLAS合作中的领导职位包括现任发言人。ATLAS实验旨在以实验室中达到的最高能量探索大量粒子物理学主题。在每秒发生的数十亿次碰撞中，只有一小部分可以被永久记录和分析。我们的小组建造、维护和操作了高度复杂的探测器电子设备（触发系统）的主要部分，该系统的任务是选择最有趣的事件，并在碰撞发生后的百万分之二秒内将数据速率降低1000倍。我们也非常积极地分析由此产生的数据，一个特别强大的团队致力于希格斯玻色子的详细性质以及更大质量的顶夸克的产生和衰变。其他的研究使用大型强子对撞机的数据来提供关于质子内部将夸克结合在一起的强力的性质的详细探测。LHC预计将再运行20年，并将继续成为粒子物理学中最重要的能源前沿设施。一项雄心勃勃的加速器和探测器升级计划正在进行中，以大幅提高碰撞率，这样升级后的每一年都将提供与十年前相同的数据量。大量增加的数据为测量希格斯玻色子的性质（只有LHC有能量产生）和测试宇宙中质量如何产生的理论提供了前所未有的精度，同时也允许对物理学的敏感性超出我们目前的模型。伯明翰是一个独特的位置，既有助于建设一个全新的，更辐射硬，跟踪探测器和升级触发器，以处理10倍以上的数据率。除了ATLAS，我们的第二个主要活动领域是在理解重夸克的复杂衰变。在LHC B实验中，我们正在通过研究底（B）夸克和反夸克衰变特性之间的微小差异来研究宇宙物质-反物质不对称性的起源。LHC B（也在升级中）中巨大的B夸克产生率提供了非常高的精度测量和对极其罕见的衰变的访问，伯明翰特别感兴趣的领域。我们的NA 62小组研究奇怪粒子的衰变，也寻找新的物理，如超对称模型所建议的。SPS加速器复合体在长时间关闭后已经重新启动，因此NA 62正在调试他们的探测器，并准备研究超稀有过程，其中K介子衰变产生一个π介子和两个中微子。这个过程大约每100亿K介子衰变才发生一次，但这个微小的速率对新物理学特别敏感。最后，该小组包括一些未来可能的高能项目的主要支持者，特别强调电子-正电子和电子-质子对撞机。我们将继续在这些领导角色，并准备加强我们的参与，这些计划，或更大的能量质子-质子对撞机，开始变得更接近实现。

Particle physics in general and particularly the quest to elucidate the nature of the recently discovered Higgs boson are in the mainstream of current public consciousness. With the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) just about to restart with much extended energy reach to search for new phenomena, there has never been a more exciting time in the field. Birmingham has a balanced programme, exploiting both the full reach of the LHC in energy and precision, as well as other aspects of the unique capabilities of the CERN accelerator complex. We study the particle collisions and decays observed in these experiments with the aim of determining the ultimate structure of matter and the forces of nature.Our leadership positions within the ATLAS collaboration include that of the current Spokesperson. The ATLAS Experiment is designed to explore a wealth of particle physics topics at the highest energies ever reached in the laboratory. Of the billion collisions taking place per second, only a tiny fraction can be permanently recorded and analysed. Our group built, maintains and operates a major part of the highly sophisticated on-detector electronics (trigger system) which has the task of selecting the most interesting events and reducing the data rate by a factor of 1000 within two millionths of a second after collisions take place. We are also very active in analysing the resulting data, with a particularly strong team working on the detailed properties of the Higgs boson and the production and decays of the even more massive top quark. Other studies use LHC data to provide detailed probes of the nature of the strong force holding quarks together inside the proton. The LHC is expected to operate for a further two decades and to remain the paramount energy frontier facility in particle physics. An ambitious programme to upgrade both accelerator and detectors is underway to hugely increase the collision rate such that every year of operation after the upgrade will deliver the same amount of data as ten years before. This vastly increased amount of data gives unprecedented precision in measuring the properties of the Higgs boson (which only the LHC has the energy to produce) and in testing the theories of how mass arises in the Universe, while also allowing much greater sensitivity to physics beyond our current models. Birmingham is uniquely placed to contribute both to construction of a brand new, much more radiation-hard, tracking detector and to the upgraded trigger to handle the ten times larger data rate.Beyond ATLAS, our second major area of activity is in understanding the complex decays of heavy quarks. At the LHCb experiment, we are investigating the origins of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe by studying the tiny differences between the decay characteristics of bottom (b) quarks and their antiquarks. The huge rates of b quark production in LHCb (which is also being upgraded) give very high precision measurements and access to extremely rare decays, the area of particular interest in Birmingham.Our NA62 group studies the decays of strange particles to also search for new physics such as that suggested by supersymmetric models. The SPS accelerator complex has already restarted after the long shutdown, so NA62 are commissioning their detector and preparing for studies of the ultra rare process in which a kaon decays to produce a pion and two neutrinos. This process occurs only roughly once in every 10 billion kaon decays, but this tiny rate is particularly sensitive to new physics. Finally, the group contains key proponents of a number of possible future high energy projects, with particular emphasis on electron-positron and electron-proton colliders. We will continue in these leadership roles and be ready to step up our involvement should plans for these, or an even greater energy proton-proton collider, start to become closer to realisation.