Physicists at Queen Mary University of London are hunting for signs of CP violation—a subtle asymmetry between matter and antimatter—using the T2K neutrino beam in Japan. This matters because CP violation may explain why the universe is filled with matter rather than nothing at all. The group also studies the Higgs boson and top quark using the ATLAS detector at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and probes proton structure at record energies. At the other end of the mass scale, they work on the SNO+ detector in Canada, which studies neutrinos from the Sun and Earth, and are preparing for the next-generation Hyper-Kamiokande experiment. This is fundamental science. It does not aim to produce a new battery or a medical device. But past fundamental particle physics—such as the discovery of the Higgs boson or neutrino oscillations—has reshaped our understanding of how the universe works. Deeper knowledge of CP violation could one day underpin new physics beyond the Standard Model, and the detector technologies developed here (trackers, calorimeters, high-speed triggers) often find their way into medical imaging, security scanners, and industrial sensors.
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The QMUL Particle Physics Research Centre (PPRC) has an exciting set of particle physics experiments at the forefront of the field. Members of the Group have been working on the commissioning and analysis of data from the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC which has just finished its Run 1 from which over 200 papers have been published. The ATLAS Group will continue to expand the study of the Higgs boson(s), the study of the top quark, started at the CDF experiment, and the study of proton structure at the highest possible energies. The QMUL Group is also involved in upgrades to the ATLAS detector for the higher luminosity by participating in the ATLAS Tracker Upgrade and Level One Calorimeter Trigger upgrade programmes. At the other end of the mass scale the neutrino group is exploiting data from the T2K long baseline neutrino experiment in Japan which will continue taking data towards indications of CP violation, and perform high precision cross section measurements. The Group is very engaged in the rich programme at the SNO+ detector in Canada that will be taking data during the period of the grant. In addition the Group is working on the next generation long baseline experiment Hyper-Kamiokande, and very high energy atmospheric neutrinos with IceCube-PINGU, Finally, the Group is exploring new possibilities at the FCC/LHeC and ILC.
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