Pursuing a Non-Standard Higgs Boson Off the Beaten Path

The Standard Model of particle physics has been a successful theory, agreeing with decades of experimental observations involving weak, electromagnetic, and strong interactions. The discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC was further confirmation of this success. However, the Standard Model remains an incomplete theory.

The precise measurements of the properties of the Higgs boson at the LHC could provide insight into new physics beyond the Standard Model. This research focuses on exploiting the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to search for new particles, study the decay of Higgs bosons, carry out precision measurements of other Standard Model (SM) processes, search for new Supersymmetry particles, and extend the capabilities of the CMS particle-tracking detector to increase its acceptance and tolerance to high collision rates.

The research activity will also foster collaboration with high school teachers and students through the QuarkNet and the general public through the Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP) project.

This research will search for subtle signatures of Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics using advanced methods for identifying rare signals and addressing systematic uncertainties. The search in this award will concentrate on identifying same-sign leptons in the event collisions. These can indicate a new Supersymmetric particle (SUSY) or other exotic physics models of BSM physics.

This research will also extend the capabilities of the CMS tracking detector to handle conditions at the High Luminosity LHC, extend its geometric coverage, and add tracking information to the far-forward particle flow analysis.

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.