High Energy Physics Projects
High Intensity Elementary Particle Physics (Experiment)
E-mail: gahs@phys.ksu.edu
Number of REU participants: 1
Physics at its heart is the study of the properties and interactions of matter, energy, space, and time. A primary focus of the K-State high energy physics group's research is on using high intensity particle beams and specialized particle detectors at Fermilab to search for "new physics". By "new physics", we mean fundamental interactions and properties that have not yet been discovered. We have a strong and active effort in developing the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) and the muon-to-electron search Mu2e. K-State will be working on software for monitoring and controlling the Mu2e experiment, testing parts of the Mu2e cosmic ray veto system, testing high voltage systems and ProtoDUNE and DUNE, and data analysis and simulation for ProtoDUNE and DUNE. This is an excellent opportunity for an REU student to gain experience in multiple aspects of high energy physics.
Testing read-out electronics for the upgraded CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (Experiment)
E-mail: aivanov@phys.ksu.edu
Number of REU participants: 1
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector is one of two large multi-purpose detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), where the Higgs boson was discovered. The purpose of CMS is to study Higgs boson properties and search for new particles, which could help answering unresolved fundamental questions in particle physics. The first phase of LHC operations is expected to conclude in two years, after which the accelerator complex will be upgraded to be able to run at nearly tenfold luminosities of proton-proton collisions and which will allow us to increase the recorded dataset by an order of magnitude. To cope up with these high rates we are upgrading our detector that will be more radiation-tolerant and its electronics will be able to process data nearly 10 times faster. Near the interaction region, in the core of the CMS there is a pixel detector, that provides high-precision space point measurements for reconstruction of charged particle trajectories. One of the critical ingredients is a new pixel readout chip (CROC) that collects the pixel hits due to traversing charged particles. The project involves measuring and testing the characteristics of the CROC chip. We will do that in two ways: by probing the prototype chips on the wafer and by using the diced chips in the readout chain teststand.
Mentee description:
General interest in high-energy physics and in development of instrumentation for high-energy experiments. Basic experience in working on Linux machines and basic programming on C++ is desired.