CAREER: Searching for New Physics Phenomena and New Audiences

职业：寻找新的物理现象和新的受众

• 批准号: 2235028
• 负责人: Lawrence Lee
• 金额: $ 100万
• 依托单位: University of Tennessee Knoxville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2028-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235028&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Searching; New; Physics; Phenomena

The Standard Model of Particle Physics is an unprecedentedly successful theory of the universe at the smallest scales. However, there exist numerous reasons the theory is unsatisfactory and incomplete. In order to gain insight into these issues, the group led by PI Prof. Lawrence Lee at the University of Tennessee studies the particle collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN outside of Geneva, Switzerland. As the facility able to probe the largest energy densities in the world, the LHC is able to probe the smallest length scales in controlled experiments. In careful analysis of the data from the collisions at the LHC, the group searches for deviations from Standard Model predictions, particularly in the form of new unknown particles. Finding such a new particle would help explain the shortcomings of our current understanding and guide us to a more complete theory of the universe. Given that no significant deviation from the Standard Model has been observed at the LHC yet, finding any new physics phenomena will require new techniques and new data. This project comprises data analyses searching for new particles Beyond the Standard Model in new and innovative ways, upgrading the CMS experiment at the LHC to continue to collect data for decades to come, and communicating this work to the public through fun and educational outreach programs. This educational component includes reaching the public with physics-inspired electronic music through Lee's ColliderScope project and the development of a particle physics educational exhibition in collaboration with a local college of design.PI Lee's group works primarily as members of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment at the LHC. This project has four main objectives. In the search for new physics phenomena, the group will search for new long-lived particles at high masses that travel macroscopic distances into the CMS detector before decaying. Directly looking for the interactions of these particles with the detector, they can be discovered via anomalously large ionization signatures. This work will focus on currently existing data and new data as it's collected. To continue to take increased data in the environment of the High-Luminosity LHC, the group will also work on upgrading the CMS detector itself in the context of the silicon tracker upgrade that provides new track-based triggering abilities to CMS. In particular, the group is involved in the construction, readout, and control software for this upgrade. To communicate the goals of the LHC with the general public, the educational components to this project involve engineering "lissajous" music in which particle physics imagery is encoded in audio waveforms that can be visualized on oscilloscopes, and an educational exhibition explaining cosmic ray physics to K-12 students as well as training students of design in the technical skills common to particle physics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

粒子物理的标准模型是最小尺度上宇宙的前所未有的成功理论。但是，存在许多原因，该理论并不令人满意和不完整。为了深入了解这些问题，田纳西大学PI. Lawrence Lee教授领导的小组研究了瑞士日内瓦以外的CERN大型强子对撞机（LHC）的粒子碰撞。由于该设施能够探测世界上最大的能量密度，LHC能够探测受控实验中最小的长度尺度。在仔细分析LHC碰撞数据的数据时，小组搜索与标准模型预测的偏差，尤其是以新的未知粒子的形式。找到这样的新粒子将有助于解释我们当前理解的缺点，并指导我们对宇宙的更完整理论。鉴于在LHC尚未观察到与标准模型的显着偏差，因此发现任何新的物理现象都需要新技术和新数据。该项目包括以新的和创新的方式搜索标准模型以外的新粒子的数据分析，从而升级了LHC的CMS实验，以继续收集数据，并通过娱乐和教育外展计划将这项工作传达给公众。该教育组成部分包括通过Lee的Colliderscope项目与物理风格的电子音乐与公众联系，并与当地设计学院合作开发了粒子物理学教育展览。PILee的小组主要作为LHC的紧凑型Muon螺栓（CMS）实验的成员。该项目有四个主要目标。在寻找新的物理现象时，该小组将在衰减前在高质量上寻找新的长寿命颗粒，这些颗粒将宏观距离传播到CMS探测器。直接寻找这些颗粒与检测器的相互作用，可以通过异常大的电离特征发现它们。这项工作将集中在当前现有的数据和新数据上收集的数据。为了继续在高光度LHC的环境中获取更多的数据，该小组还将在硅跟踪器升级的背景下升级CMS检测器本身，该升级为CMS提供了新的基于轨道的触发能力。特别是，该小组参与了此升级的构建，读数和控制软件。要与公众传达LHC的目标，该项目的教育组成部分涉及工程“ Lissajous”音乐，其中粒子物理图像在音频波形中编码，可以在示波器上可视化，并在示波器上可视化，以及向K-12学生培训粒子范围的统计学生的教育展览，并在技术上培训了粒子的绘制，并培训了粒子的范围。认为值得通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛影响的评论标准来评估值得支持。