The Experimental Particle physics group conducts research with the D0 experiment at Fermilab, the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and the CLEO experiment at Cornell. The group also works on linear collider detector development and the CALICE experiment, and astroparticle physics experiments RICE, AURA, and ANITA at the South Pole.
CMS
Our newest project is the
Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector being built and operated at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.
CMS is a large multipurpose experiment that will look at the
proton-proton collisions from the Large Hadron Collider with a center of mass energy
of 14 TeV. At this energy frontier it will be possible to search for new physics
such as the Higgs Boson(s), Supersymmetry, and extra dimensions.
Also, this project provides the ability to make precision studies of
different particles, their processes and interactions, and afford a better
picture of the Top Quark.
Our part in this collaboration started with the building and commissioning of the
silicon tracking system, and now we are working in
physics analysis projects which include the study of Heavy Stable Charged Particles.
Faculty on this experiment include Bean and Baringer.
We are working with two institutes in Switzerland — PSI and ETH, as well as Kansas State Univ.,
Univ. of Illinois–Chicago, Univ. of Nebraska and Univ. of Puerto Rico performing pixel R&D for
a tracker upgrade for the high luminosity running called the SLHC.
D0
We are members of the D0 collaboration
working at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab).
The D0 detector studies proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 2 TeV.
We helped with the construction of the silicon detector,
to produce enhanced reconstruction of jets associated with the bottom quark.
The group also has reponsibilities for the fiber-tracker based track trigger
and is engaged in understanding tracking and triggering in D0.
Some of our analysis projects include: the discovery of single-top quark production and Bs-oscillations, searches for
the Higgs particle, and Electroweak cross section measurements.
Faculty on this experiment include Baringer, Bean, and Wilson.
CLEO
Our group also analyzes data obtained at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) within the CLEO collaboration. The electron-positron collisions at 4 GeV permit the study of weak decay of the charmed and bottom quark, and a search for new forms of matter and novel Upsilon(1s) decays. Prof. Besson leads this effort.
Linear Collider
Prof. Wilson works
on the design of particle-flow calorimetry for experiments at future electron-positron colliders such as the
International Linear Collider. Examples of such high granularity calorimeters
are those proposed by the ILD and SiD detector design concepts.
We test the calorimetry design concepts with the CALICE test-beam experiment
using suitable test-beams around the world.
Particle Astrophysics
In addition to the accelerator based projects above, there is also an astroparticle physics effort aimed at searching for ultra-high energy neutrinos when they collide with the Antarctic Ice Cap using radio receivers. KU initiated the RICE project under the leadership of Prof. Besson. Besson also works with the AURA and ANITA projects.