Physicists are smashing protons together at the Large Hadron Collider to measure the Higgs particle and search for dark matter, while also firing neutrinos through Japan and hunting for rare particle decays in underground labs. This suite of experiments addresses fundamental gaps in our understanding of the universe. The Standard Model of particle physics cannot explain dark matter, which makes up about a quarter of the cosmos, nor can it account for why matter survived over antimatter after the Big Bang. The researchers are testing whether neutrinos are their own antiparticles, whether muons can convert directly into electrons, and whether the electron has a measurable electric dipole moment—any of which would signal entirely new physics. This is primarily curiosity-driven fundamental science with no immediate practical application. However, the work has two concrete spinoffs: the group is developing proton beam techniques that could be applied to healthcare, and it continues to build the Grid computing infrastructure that underpins large-scale data analysis across multiple scientific fields. Past fundamental particle physics research gave us the World Wide Web and medical imaging technologies like PET scans.
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This grant is to continue the group's programme of investigation into the properties of elementary particles and the fundamental forces of nature. One of the main objectives of this grant will be to support the exploitation of the LHC experiments which will be taking data during the period of this grant. The CMS experiment will continue to measure the Higgs particle, following its successful discovery in 2012. It will also be able to cover completely new areas of parameter space in searches for SUSY and other new phenomena such as finding evidence of potential dark matter candidates. The LHCb experiment will offer complementary tests of the Standard Model and beyond with the ability to look for extremely rare decays in flavour physics and to measure CP asymmetries in the decays of B mesons, both of which are sensitive to contributions from new physics. These experiments will make extensive use of Grid computing which the group will continue to develop and exploit, both for the LHC and for other experiments. The group will also be active in preparing the next generation of detectors for the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC. The T2K experiment will allow us to expand our understanding of the masses and mixings in the neutrino sector, and should provide key measurements which will guide us as to whether we ultimately could see evidence of CP violation in the neutrino sector. One of the other missing pieces of the neutrino puzzle is whether the neutrino is its own antiparticle. We are preparing the SuperNEMO experiment to attempt to determine if the neutrino is a Majorana particle and first data-taking will occur during the grant. Heavy neutrino-like particles are predicted in several new physics models and we are starting preparations for the SHiP experiment to search for these new particles. The group will be active in several experiments specifically searching for new physics. Direct conversion of muons to electrons is heavily suppressed in the Standard Model so any observation of this process would be a major discovery. The COMET experiment is searching for this process and will take data during the grant. Similarly, a measurable electric dipole moment for the electron could only arise through new physics and the eEDM experiment will continue to push down the limits for such an effect. Around a quarter of the universe is composed of dark matter and its nature is unknown. This has so far remained undetected in the laboratory and the group will continue its activity in searching for direct evidence of a dark matter candidate through the LUX and later LUX-ZEPLIN experiments. Accelerators to produce muon beams will be needed for future neutrino and muon collider experiments. The group is continuing its research in this area through the MICE experiment and nuSTORM studies. Proton beams also have potential applications for other scientific fields and for healthcare, and the group is studying how to apply these techniques in these areas. Understanding the LHC in terms of phenomenology is critical to comparing data to theory and the group is very active in this area.
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