Particle Physics Research in the Department

1. University of Durham Particle Physics Research in the Department • Who we are • Particle Physics today • What we do • What we plan to do

2. CPT EWNG GW PB etc WJS MRP SAA VVK RAG MRW HEPDATA Particle Physics in Durham Physics Maths IPPP PPARC grants: IPPP, CPT, HEPDATA in Physics: 12 academic staff, 13 research staff, ~18 p/g students, 5 support staff

3. bottom up top down Standard Model 6 quarks* (u,d,s,c,b,t) 6 leptons (e,,,e,,) gauge bosons (,W,Z,g) Higgs boson ~10-18m D=4 + supersymmetry? particle  sparticle dark matter? bottom up + string, brane theory? M-Theory? ~10-35m D=11? *quarks and gluons confined in hadrons: Baryons (p,n), Mesons () “Theory of Everything”?

4. particle physics the key scientific themes • the origin of mass • the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe • the properties of neutrinos • the unification of particles and forces including gravity • dark matter PPARC Strategy Document 2003

5. our aims • [ALL]to carry out world-class research in theoretical particle (and astroparticle) physics, with emphasis on phenomenology • [IPPP]to provide a forum for interaction between UK pp experimentalists and theorists (conferences, workshops, visitors, schools, etc.) • [HEPDATA]to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date database of world-wide particle physics experimental data

6. UK exptl PP community phenomenology? • The interface between theory and experiment in the study of the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces that operate between them do experiments calculate predictions of theory analyse data to learn about theory construct more fundamental theories

7. Direct production (discovery) at high-energy colliders, e.g. LHC H p p H A1 BSM: Higgs, Supersymmetry, …searches at high-energy colliders Weiglein Dedes Davidson Martin VA Khoze Information on the Higgs mass from precision electroweak theory calculations and measurements Large Hadron Collider proton-proton collisions Ecm = 14 TeV, 2007 → • Studies of properties, signals and backgrounds of Higgs bosons, supersymmetric and other BSM particles at present and future colliders, in particular: Linear Collider electron-positron collisions Ecm ~ 1 TeV, 2015? → LHC-LC Study Group

8. A2 Monte Carlo event simulation Richardson Simulation of the decay of a Higgs boson into four muons in the CMS detector at the LHC HERWIG simulation of the production and decay of a black holein the ATLAS detector at the LHC

9. αS(E) non-perturbative 1 perturbative 0 E Example • probability distributions for momentum fraction carried by quarks and gluons in the proton • most cited papers in UK particle physics in last decade • learning about the deep structure of the proton… and vital ingredients for physics programme at high-energy hadron colliders proton quark xP P A3 Quantum Chromodynamics – the strong interaction field theory Glover VA Khoze Martin Maxwell Pennington Signer Stirling • responsible for the binding of quarks and gluons into hadrons • key ingredient of all hadron collider (LHC, …) phenomenology

10. A4 Ball heavy quark physics • the laws of physics are almost, but not quite, invariant under CP transformations • CP violation is believed to be the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe • CP violation is built in to the Standard Model (SM), where it is most easily studied in the weak decays of mesons containing heavy quarks, for example at B-Factories • in the SM, weak transitions between quarks are parametrised by the (complex) “CKM Matrix” Topics under study at IPPP • problem of strong interaction effects (heavy quarks confined in mesons) which contaminate weak decay measurements • sensitivity of B decays (e.g. B →  KS) to physics beyond the Standard Model, in particular Supersymmetry and models with “large” extra dimensions

11.  e A5 neutrino & astroparticle physics Davidson Dedes Abel • most important discovery in particle physics in last decade: neutrinos have mass and can mix! e = cos |1 + sin |2  = -sin |1 + cos |2 m1  m2  0 Topics under study • models for neutrino mass generation (e.g. “see-saw mechanism”) • neutrinos – Dirac or Majorana fermions? • implications for leptogenesis and baryogenesis of heavy right-handed neutrinos • absolute neutrino mass measurements and limits, e.g. cosmology and neutrinoless double beta decay experiments: 2n→ 2p+2e-

12. A6 non-phenomenology research VV Khoze Abel Gregory • string and gauge theory • exploring the implications of string theory / gauge theory dualities • non-perturbative effects due to instantons, monopoles and D-branes in gauge theories • string theory model building • particle cosmology • confronting string theory and cosmology models • braneworlds: our universe as a slice in higher-dimensional spacetime • induced higher-order corrections to gravitational interaction

13. future plans • consolidate and develop the IPPP: • position ourselves to play a major role in the future world collider programme (LHC, LC, Accelerator R&D, …) • build up particle astrophysics activity • expand the non-phenomenology research activity, in collaboration with Maths • further develop e-Science (e.g. Grid, data management) activity • maintain a strong outreach activity • explore possibilities of bringing experimental particle/astroparticle physics (back) to Durham