Experimental Particle Physics Consolidated Grant 2015 - capital equipment

2015 年实验粒子物理综合资助 - 资本设备

• 批准号: ST/N001125/1
• 负责人: Paul Newman
• 金额: $ 4.48万
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2015 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FN001125%2F1
• 关键词: Experimental; Particle; Physics; Consolidated; Grant

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.

粒子物理总体上，尤其是阐明最近发现的希格斯玻色子的性质的追求是当前公共意识的主流。随着CERN大型强子对撞机（LHC）即将重新启动，以延长的能量到达寻找新现象，因此在该领域从未有过更激动人心的时刻。伯明翰拥有一个平衡的计划，可以利用LHC在能量和精度方面的全部范围，以及Cern Accelerator综合体独特功能的其他方面。我们研究了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量。我们在ATLAS协作中的领导地位包括当前发言人的领导地位。 ATLAS实验旨在探索实验室有史以来最高能量的大量粒子物理主题。在每秒发生的十亿碰撞中，只能永久记录和分析一小部分。我们的小组建立，维护和运营高度复杂的OnDetector电子（触发系统）的主要部分，该项目的任务是选择最有趣的事件，并在发生碰撞后一秒钟内将数据速率降低了1000倍。我们也非常积极地分析所得数据，一个特别强大的团队致力于Higgs Boson的详细特性以及更大的顶级夸克的生产和衰减。其他研究使用LHC数据来详细探究质子内强力的强大性质。 LHC预计将持续二十年，并保留颗粒物理学中的最重要能量前沿设施。正在进行一个雄心勃勃的计划来升级加速器和探测器，以极大地提高碰撞率，以使升级后的每年运行一年都将提供与十年前相同的数据。大大增加的数据在测量希格斯玻色子的性质（只有LHC有能量生产的能量）以及测试宇宙中质量如何产生的理论时，具有前所未有的精度，同时还允许对我们当前模型的物理学更大的敏感性。伯明翰（Birmingham）独特地为构建全新的，更具辐射的速度，跟踪探测器以及升级的触发器来贡献了较大的数据速率。BeyondAtlas，我们的第二个主要活动是了解复杂的重型夸克。在LHCB实验中，我们通过研究底部夸克（b）夸克及其古怪的衰减特征之间的微小差异来研究宇宙物质抗对称的起源。 LHCB中B夸克产量的巨大速率（也正在升级）可提供很高的精度测量和极少数衰减的途径，这是伯明翰特别感兴趣的领域。 SPS加速器综合体已经在长时间关闭后重新启动，因此Na62正在调试其检测器，并准备研究Kaon腐烂产生锥子和两个中微子的超罕见过程。这个过程每100亿次腐烂一次仅发生一次，但是这种微小的速度对新物理学特别敏感。最后，该小组包含许多可能未来的高能量项目的关键支持者，特别着重于电子峰值和电子普罗顿煤炭。我们将继续担任这些领导角色，并准备加强我们的参与，如果计划这些计划，或者是更大的能源质子proton对撞机，开始变得越来越接近实现。