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Particle Physics and the search for the ultimate building blocks of matter

Particle Physics and the search for the ultimate building blocks of matter. An Overview of the Center for Applied Physics Studies Prepared for the Louisiana Tech Energy Systems Conference 5 Nov 2009. Overview of CAPS. A Board of Regents recognized research center - Faculty Associates:

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Particle Physics and the search for the ultimate building blocks of matter

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  1. Particle Physics and the search for the ultimate building blocks of matter An Overview of the Center for Applied Physics Studies Prepared for the Louisiana Tech Energy Systems Conference 5 Nov 2009

  2. Overview of CAPS • A Board of Regents recognized research center - • Faculty Associates: • Greenwood, Sawyer, Wobisch • Grimm, Johnston, Simicevic (dir.), Wells • Genov • Interdiscplinary projects in association with • TTC (Allouche, Jaganathan) • IfM (Wilson) • LONI (Leangsuksun, Baggag) • Sandi Perry – Administrative Assistant • Sabine Fuchs – Lab Manager/Technician • Michael Bryant – Systems Manager

  3. Nuclear Radiation Measurement LaboratoryDick Greenwood- Radiation Safety Officer • Licensed by LA DEQ for radioactive material use and storage • Low Background Alpha-Beta Counting Facility • Nuclear radiation spectroscopy • Fast Nuclear Instrumentation Electronics • NaI Spectrometer • (2) Germanium High Precision Spectrometers • Portable beta-gamma radiation detectors (radiacs) • thermoluminescent dosimeter reader • Oversight by the university BRIRC

  4. CAPS Projects • Several Major Experimental Collaborations • D0 Experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Lab (Illinois) • ATLAS at CERN (Switzerland) • G0 and QWEAK Experiments at Jefferson National Accelerator Lab (Virginia) • ILD and SiD Design Efforts for the Proposed International Linear Collider • Detector Development Activities • Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) for tracking • Nanoparticle implantation in scintillators • High speed trigger electronics • Advanced Computing Projects • Data reconstruction and simulation on the GRID • Applications of GPGPUs to particle physics experiments • FDTD simulation of fundamental & applied physics processes • FDFD computational electrodynamics & modeling of metamaterials • Interdisciplinary Activities

  5. What Do Particle Physicists Do? • We search for the most elementary building blocks of matter • We study how those pieces come to together in more complicated structures • We study the fundamental forces of nature in particle interactions

  6. The New Periodic Table Quarks group into larger structures, like protons and neutrons Electrons and their relatives (muons, neutrinos,…) are fundamental Forces are mediated by another set of fundamental particles

  7. How do we know these particles exist? How do we produce them and study them?

  8. Particle Accelerators UnderlyingEvent g q u u q d u d u Hard Scatter • Accelerators allow us to explore the interactions of particles at high energies • See the underlying physics not the dressing • We can collide beams of either electrons or protons • Because electron beams radiate when accelerated, proton accelerators are the best way to reach very high energies • But electron accelerators play an important complementary role in making precision measurements and to probe new physics via “higher order” effects • Proton-antiproton collision:

  9. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory • (“Fermilab”) • About 50 miles west of Chicago • Named for Enrico Fermi • Currently the highest energy particle accelerator in the world

  10. The Dzero Experiment • One of two large collider detectors at Fermilab • A five-story tall device with over 1 million channels of electronics • Began current data taking run in 2001

  11. The Next Frontier • The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) • Due to start this year • Proton-proton collision from 10 to 14 TeV • Also Nucleus-nucleus collisions up to lead • Four large detectors • LATech is participating in the ATLAS experiment • Faculty, grad students, and undergrad students have spent significant time at CERN

  12. Deconstructing a Detector: ATLAS • A general purpose detector: • Inner Tracking: Central and Forward Pixels, Silicon Strip (SCT), and Transition Radiation Tracker )TRT) • - 2 T solenoid • - EM liquid argon calorimeter • - Hadronic scintialltor tile calorimeter • -Air-core superconducting toriods • - Muon detectors (total area of 12,000 m2)

  13. The Relation Between Discovery & Application • The hardest job I have is explaining the need for basic research • The best way to think of it as “seed corn” • You cannot have applications in a generation if you do not have the basic science now • The expenditures on basic research are miniscule compared to the future economic benefit • Or as Faraday said to Gladstone when asked “Of what use is it?” “One day, sir, you may tax it!”

  14. Nuclear Fission Timeline 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 Nuclear Fusion Timeline

  15. A final Thought on Energy… Chemical Reaction Few eV/atom Nuclear Reaction MeV/nucleon Quark – Gluon Reactions Few GeV/parton

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