Experimental Particle Physics Rolling Grant 2006-2011

这项研究的目的是了解宇宙的基本组成部分（基本粒子）的性质，以及控制这些粒子相互作用的基本力的性质。这样做，将获得关于宇宙起源和演化的深刻见解，特别是在大爆炸后的最初时刻。兰开斯特的研究计划涵盖了所有主要类型的加速器设施，并以强子对撞机物理为基础，包括费米实验室（Fermilab）和欧洲核子研究中心（CERN）的Tevatron和LHC机器，日本的长基线中微子振荡观测，以及在更长远的未来，国际线性对撞机（ILC）的高能电子-正电子碰撞。所有这些工作都将以兰开斯特大学在描述和理解强辐照硅粒子探测器的特性、在网格上操作高性能计算设施和编写离线事件重建软件方面的专业知识为基础。强子对撞机物理学有望揭示B强子（含重B夸克）的详细性质，包括含有奇异夸克的中性B介子的混合，以及与宇宙中物质-反物质不对称存在相关的CP破坏。在大型强子对撞机上寻找新物理学将集中在理解质量的起源（以及希格斯玻色子的作用）、自然界新对称性（如超对称）和额外空间维度的存在。中微子振荡计划有望提供有关三种已知中微子的质量和混合量的重要信息。如果电子中微子的出现可以在介子中微子束中观察到，那么在研究的下一个阶段，有可能在标准模型的中微子部分建立CP违逆的存在。这可能对理解宇宙的物质-反物质不对称性产生深远的影响。电子-正电子对撞机（ILC）将使在大型强子对撞机上进行的一些研究得以延续，但具有更高的精度和多功能性。它对于阐明希格斯玻色子和超对称的性质尤其重要，如果它们不仅是顶夸克的丰富来源，而且还存在的话。

This research is aimed at understanding the properties of the basic building blocks of the Universe (the elementary particles) and the nature of the fundamental forces which govern the interactions of these particles. In so doing, deep insights will be gained about the origin and evolution of the Universe, especially in the first moments after the Big Bang. The Lancaster research programme covers all the main types of accelerator facilities and is based on hadron collider physics with the Tevatron (Fermilab) and LHC (CERN) machines, the observation of long baseline neutrino oscillations in Japan and, in the longer term future, high energy electron-positron collisions at the International Linear Collider (ILC). All of this work will be underpinned by Lancaster's expertise in characterising and understanding the properties of heavily irradiated silicon particle detectors, in operating high performance computing facilities on the Grid and in writing offline event reconstruction software. The hadron collider physics is expected to reveal detailed properties of B hadrons (containing heavy b-quarks) including the mixing of neutral B mesons containing strange quarks, and CP violation which is related to the existence of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. Searches for new physics at the LHC will focus on understanding the origin of mass (and the role of the Higgs boson), the existence of new symmetries of nature (e.g. supersymmetry) and extra spatial dimensions. The neutrino oscillations programme is expected to provide important information about the masses of and the amount of mixing amongst the three known species of neutrinos. If the appearance of electron neutrinos can be observed in a muon neutrino beam then it may be possible, in a further phase of the research, to establish the existence of CP violation in the neutrino sector of the Standard Model. This could have wide reaching implications for the understanding of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe. The electron-positron collider (the ILC) will enable a continuation of some of the research performed at the LHC but with a facility of greater precision and versatility. It could be especially crucial for the elucidation of the properties of the Higgs boson and supersymmetry if they exist as well as being an abundant source of top quraks.