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.

粒子物理标准模型是一个前所未有的成功的最小尺度宇宙理论。然而，该理论存在诸多不令人满意和不完整的原因。为了深入了解这些问题，田纳西大学 PI 教授 Lawrence Lee 领导的小组研究了瑞士日内瓦郊外欧洲核子研究中心大型强子对撞机 (LHC) 的粒子碰撞。作为能够探测世界上最大能量密度的设施，大型强子对撞机能够在受控实验中探测最小的长度尺度。在仔细分析大型强子对撞机碰撞数据时，该小组寻找与标准模型预测的偏差，特别是新未知粒子形式的偏差。找到这样一种新粒子将有助于解释我们目前理解的缺陷，并指导我们建立更完整的宇宙理论。鉴于大型强子对撞机尚未观察到与标准模型的重大偏差，发现任何新的物理现象将需要新技术和新数据。该项目包括以新的和创新的方式寻找超出标准模型的新粒子的数据分析，升级大型强子对撞机的 CMS 实验以在未来几十年继续收集数据，并通过有趣和教育性的推广计划向公众传播这项工作。这一教育内容包括通过 Lee 的 ColliderScope 项目向公众提供受物理启发的电子音乐，以及与当地设计学院合作开发粒子物理教育展览。PI Lee 的团队主要作为紧凑介子螺线管 (CMS) 的成员进行工作在大型强子对撞机上进行实验。该项目有四个主要目标。在寻找新的物理现象的过程中，该小组将寻找新的高质量长寿命粒子，这些粒子在衰变之前会经过宏观距离进入 CMS 探测器。直接寻找这些粒子与探测器的相互作用，可以通过异常大的电离特征发现它们。这项工作将重点关注当前现有的数据和收集的新数据。为了继续在高亮度 LHC 环境中获取更多数据，该小组还将致力于在硅跟踪器升级的背景下升级 CMS 探测器本身，为 CMS 提供新的基于轨道的触发能力。特别是，该小组参与了此次升级的构建、读出和控制软件。为了向公众传达大型强子对撞机的目标，该项目的教育部分包括设计“利萨如”音乐，其中粒子物理图像被编码为可以在示波器上可视化的音频波形，以及向公众解释宇宙射线物理的教育展览。 K-12 学生以及设计专业学生粒子物理常见技术技能的培训。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。