Searching for New Physics in the High Luminosity Era at the LHC

One of the major intellectual achievements of the 20th century was the development of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. This model succeeded in classifying all the elementary particles known at the time into a hierarchy of groups having similar quantum properties. The validity of this model to date was confirmed by the discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

However, the Standard Model as it currently exists leaves open many questions about the universe, including such fundamental questions as to why the Higgs mass has the value it has. One of the goals of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, which remains the premier Energy Frontier particle accelerator, operating at the CERN laboratory near Geneva Switzerland, is to discover new physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM).

This award will contribute to the potential discoveries of BSM in three main categories: 1) maintain the on-going operations of the ATLAS detector, including the trigger system, as well as work on the proposed upgrade to the detector over the next three years, 2) contribute physics analysis to both Standard Model physics (in order to be able to recognize BSM physics) and searches for new particles which directly reveal BSM physics, and 3) contribute to education and outreach efforts to explain BSM physics to non-scientists including elementary students.

This award to the Michigan State University targets physics studies under the general category of searches for new vector bosons. The study will search for new heavy bosons predicted in many BSM physics models. A discovery of any of these bosons would be truly transformative.

In addition, work will include improved studies on the Standard Model, reducing theoretical uncertainties by making precision measurements of cross sections in lepton decay channels at the LHC energies. Members of the MSU high energy physics group have traditionally had a strong involvement in education and outreach, and the group has been especially innovative in informal education.

This award will contribute to the creation of a “virtual reality” experience that will allow the general public to visualize LHC physics events.

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.