The Large Hadron Collider is smashing protons together at energies never before achieved, and physicists are watching closely for something that breaks the known rules of particle physics. This matters because the Standard Model—the current best theory of matter's fundamental building blocks—cannot explain why the Universe contains far more matter than antimatter, nor what dark matter is made of. The theory also predicts that new particles and forces should appear at the energies the LHC now reaches. By analysing collisions recorded by the ATLAS and LHCb detectors, the team aims to catch the first glimpse of phenomena beyond the Standard Model, such as supersymmetric particles. Separately, using the MINOS and MINOS+ neutrino detectors, they will test whether neutrinos can travel faster than light and whether they are their own antiparticles. This is fundamental science with no immediate practical application. It addresses the deepest open questions about why the Universe exists in its current form. Past fundamental research into particle physics gave us the World Wide Web, medical imaging technologies, and the basic understanding of nuclear forces. A discovery here—such as a new particle or a violation of known symmetries—would reshape our understanding of how matter behaves at its most basic level, and could eventually underpin entirely new technologies.
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The Large Hadron Collider is delivering data which allows us to study the properties of the smallest known constituents of matter - quarks and leptons. The current theory which describes these properties is known as the Standard Model, and it has been extremely successful in the predicting the outcome of experiments at lower energies. However, it is expected that new phenomena, not predicted by the Standard Model, should begin to appear in the TeV energy range. Theoretical predictions include a variety of new particles and interactions. Models using supersymmetry predict a new particle for every one so far discovered for example. The theory does not currently explain the lack of antimatter in our Universe. By performing experiments with the ATLAS and LHCb detectors, we aim to cast light on these issues by observing effects outside of the Standard Model. Neutrino experiments have also revealed many unexpected phenomena over the years, including the recent suggestion that they may travel faster than light. We will continue our successful exploration of the properties of these particles using the MINOS and MINOS+ detectors. We hope to able to confirm or refute the suggestion that they travel at superluminal speed, and also to test whether they possess interactions consistent with being in the class of Majorana particles (which are their own antiparticles), rather than Dirac particles as currently presumed. We will also work on upgrading the detector systems of ATLAS and LHCb, which will allow us to continue to gather new data much faster, after a planned increase in beam intensity at the LHC. This will involve novel work on sensors and fast electronics. Finally, we will prepare the ground for the next generation of accelerators. If discoveries are made at the LHC, for example by observing the Higgs boson or another new particle, its properties will need to be measured at very high precision. This could be achieved with a linear electron-positron collider. We will remain in the forefront of design work for such a new machine and its detector systems.
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