£3.5 million for particle physics research
The Particle Physics Experiment group at the University of Edinburgh has been awarded £3.5M to carry out cutting edge physics research.
The award will allow the Edinburgh group to participate in major experimental efforts over the next 3 years at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and other top labs around the world. These experiments aim to address key questions in physics, such as the dramatic imbalance between matter and antimatter in the visible Universe, the properties of fundamental particles like quarks and neutrinos, and the nature of Dark Matter.
The Edinburgh group are one of 18 UK universities to benefit from £60M funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). This funding will help keep the UK at the forefront of answering some of the biggest and most complex questions in science and supports the next generation of UK particle physicists.
Particle Physics Experiment group leaders, Professors Christos Leonidopoulos & Victoria Martin said:
The award will enable us to continue our strong involvement and leadership with the ATLAS and LHCb experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and their upgrades for the high-luminosity phase. We continue to build our leading involvement in neutrino physics with participation in DUNE, MicroBooNE, SBND and AIT-WATCHMAN, covering design, construction and exploration. Our dark matter efforts build upon our strong contributions in LZ and now expand to include DarkSide. We are watching closely the evolution of plans for future colliders, and actively participate in research and development studies. We will also be delivering targeted outreach programmes and impact, particularly in silicon and photo-detectors and medical imaging.
Professor Phil Clark commented:
We are very grateful to have received this funding for our research work with the ATLAS experiment at CERN. This reflects well on the excellent international reputation of our team of academics, researchers, engineers and technicians. With the re-start at higher luminosity of the LHC this year, we are well placed to make a big impact in our Higgs and Exotics particle physics analysis programmes, as well as our work in simulation, trigger and the next silicon pixel detector of ATLAS.
Professor Franz Muheim said:
This is excellent news for the LHCb experiment that will commence data-taking with a new upgraded detector when the LHC restarts operation this year. The Edinburgh group played a leading role in the upgrade of the Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detectors for LHCb. This award will underpin the smooth operation and excellent performance of the RICH detectors and allow Edinburgh team members to make more exciting measurements in the area of flavour physics and beyond.