Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider, an underground facility near Geneva, have been searching for evidence of the theoretical particle first postulated by the University’s Professor Peter Higgs. Scientists at CERN have said that tantalising hints have been seen by experiments there, but these are not yet strong enough to claim a discovery.
Unifying theory
Experiments at CERN have produced a considerable amount of data, analysis of which suggests the existence of the particle. However, researchers say more work is needed to claim the discovery of the Higgs.
Professor Higgs was working at the University in the 1960s when he developed his eponymous theory. The Higgs boson particle is thought to be a tiny yet crucial building block of physical matter that gives mass to all other particles. It has a key role in the Standard Model of physics, which defines our understanding of the physical world and has dominated the field of particle physics for 40 years.
Over the coming months, scientists will be further refining their analyses. However, a definitive statement on whether the Higgs exists will require more data, and is not likely until late in 2012.
Atlas experiment
A team of 15 scientists from the University, led by the School's Dr Phil Clark and Dr Victoria Martin, are working on the Atlas experiment at CERN, which is researching the basic forces that have shaped the Universe.
"It's an incredibly exciting time to be working on the Atlas experiment, to see the first glimpse of what might turn out to be the Higgs boson," said Victoria Martin. "The Atlas team in Edinburgh has made key contributions to the experiment and are looking forward to 2012, particularly to analysing the additional LHC data and finally settling the answer to the big question on our minds: does the Higgs boson actually exist?"
Peter Higgs and the Higgs Boson
We have created a website that explains more about Peter Higgs and his work.
Dr Victoria Martin, a lecturer and researcher in particle physics at the University of Edinburgh, explains the background to the hunt for the Higg's Boson in an article in The Scotsman.
You can find out more on our new website: Peter Higgs and the Higgs Boson.
The University of Edinburgh intends to appoint up to 100 Chancellor’s Fellowships across the University’s 22 Schools as an investment in the future of teaching and research. These prestigious awards are aimed at early-career individuals of the highest potential who have begun to establish a reputation for the highest quality research at the forefront of their discipline and who have a commitment to learning and teaching at university level.
Currently, the key research priorities in the School of Physics and Astronomy are:
- Experimental particle physics at the Large Hadron Collider
- Collider physics (BSM, model building, Monte Carlo, perturbative QCD).
- Studies of strongly-correlated electron systems, quantum ordering and novel phases.
- Characterization and synthesis of materials at extremely high pressure, from dynamic shock or static.
- Local-universe cosmology (to tie in with GAIA)
- Fundamental cosmology (to tie in with Euclid)
However, applications would also be considered in: Astrobiology; Computational Materials Science; Development or modelling of new materials for use in bio-, solar, thermoelectric or nuclear energy applications; The era of reionization (to link with LOFAR & HST); lattice QCD; and nuclear physics.
For information on how to apply, please visit: Chancellor's Fellowships at the University of Edinburgh
Up to 15 fully-funded Prize PhD studentships and over 100 other funded PhD places in Physics in Scotland.
The Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) opens a single door into all Physics PhDs in Scotland. When you apply for a SUPA Prize PhD Studentship you will also be considered for all other funded places available in Physics departments in Scotland.
The major themes pursued by researchers in SUPA
• Astronomy and Space Physics
• Condensed Matter and Material Physics
• Energy
• Particle Physics
• Photonics
• Physics and Life Sciences
• Nuclear and Plasma Physics
Applications should be made to SUPA by Friday 10th February 2012
The Edinburgh Physics Education Research Group (EdPER) has won the Formative e-Assessment category at this year's Scottish e-Assessment Awards.
The entry, submitted by the School's Simon Bates, Ross Galloway and Karon McBride, described assessed assignments that use PeerWise, an online question sharing and peer review application developed by the University of Auckland.
'Using PeerWise for Formative Peer e-Assessment in Introductory Physics Courses' reported on the successful use of scaffolded tasks in two introductory-level physics courses. Instructional scaffolding gives students additional support when new concepts are first introduced, with the support gradually reduced as student learning progresses.
"The biggest benefit was writing questions and having to put a lot of thought in to explain the problem to other people. It really helped my understanding of parts of the subject." Student workshop participant
The EdPER team developed four scaffolding activities for workshops preceding PeerWise assignments. The initial scaffolding activity was well received, with class leaders reporting a notable 'buzz' during the workshops and many students opting in subsequent workshops to use PeerWise to work collaboratively during break times.
In the post-course survey of students, 65% agreed that developing original questions improved their understanding of course topics. One student wrote: "The biggest benefit was writing questions and having to put a lot of thought in to explain the problem to other people. It really helped my understanding of parts of the subject."
About EdPER
EdPER is a group of School staff and students that aims to adopt a more scientific approach to Physics and science teaching. The group undertakes evidence-based research into aspects of physics teaching and learning at university level. Our aim is to develop and evaluate research-based instructional strategies, by gathering and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data, with a view to being able to improve student learning in the subject and related cognate areas.
The group was formally established in 2008 and comprises staff from across the various institutes within the School, together with postgraduate students, e-learning developers and learning designers. Some highlights of our recent work have been in the area of developing a diagnostic test of data handling skills and the incorporation of student generated assessment content in introductory courses.
To learn more, speak to Karon McBride, Learning Designer: karon.mcbride [at] ed.ac.uk
The Scottish e-Assessment Awards
Launched in 2009, the Awards recognise excellence and innovation in using e-Assessment to improve the educational experience of learners. More than 50 entries were received in 2011. The judging panel was made up of members of the Board of the UK's e-Assessment Association and Soffed (a partner in the running of the Awards in Scotland). The award was collected at eAssessment Scotland 2011 in Dundee.
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The LHCb experiment in CERN - in which the School takes a leading role - is exploring processes important to the understanding of what happened fourteen billion years ago, when the Universe began.
Crammed within an infinitely small space, equal quantities of matter and antimatter were created. But its composition changed as the Universe cooled and expanded: just one second after the Big Bang antimatter had all but disappeared, leaving only matter to form everything that we see around us.
This matter-antimatter asymmetry relies upon a phenomenon known as CP violation. It is predicted by the Standard Model of Physics but at a much lower level than we need to explain the early Universe.
The LHCb experiment measures the decay of elementary particles known as B mesons, and in this case a quantity known as φs. Experimental results which deviate from the Standard Model's predictions would suggest new physics sources of CP violation. Fermilab in the USA has previously measured φs, but the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider has improved the precision by a factor of two with preliminary results and will soon improve this by a factor of ten. These new results, which were eagerly awaited, were announced at the 'Lepton Photon' conference in Mumbai in August.
"This is a milestone for the LHCb experiment. It is a flagship result for LHCb, where we have now made the World's most precise measurement of this quantity." Peter Clarke, Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics
Peter Clarke, of the School's Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics, said: "This is a milestone for the LHCb experiment. It is is a flagship result for LHCb, where we have now made the World's most precise measurement of this quantity. A team of seven physicists and PhD students from the University of Edinburgh was one of the groups leading the measurement of φs by analysing decays of Bs mesons into J/psi and phi mesons.
"Measuring φs is all about understanding the origin of difference in behaviour of matter and antimatter. This difference is a key ingredient in the evolution of the early Universe. Without it we would have no 'matter' left today and we wouldn't be writing this article.
"We know that the matter anti-matter difference in our Standard Model is insufficient to explain the Universe. So we are looking to find evidence of new sources of this effect, ie discover new physics phenomenon. This is the big motivation for us all."
The Standard Model, quarks and the missing anti-matter
Matter and antimatter are thought to have existed in equal amounts at the beginning of the Universe, but as the Universe expanded and cooled, an asymmetry developed between them, leaving a universe that appears to be composed entirely of matter. Heavy quarks provide a good place to investigate this phenomenon because the heavier the quark, the more ways it can decay, and all of these decays are described by the Standard Model.
The Standard Model predicts matter-antimatter asymmetry, but at a level which is too small to explain the observed asymmetry in the Universe. Deviations from the predictions would bring an indication of new physics. b-quarks are produced copiously at the LHC, which makes them the particle of choice for studying matter-antimatter asymmetry in the laboratory. Quarks are never produced alone, but always travel in company: they are accompanied by another quark giving rise to the family of particles called B mesons. It is these that LHCb studies.
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Computational Physics student Flaviu Cipcigan reached the final of the Science, Engineering & Technology (SET) Student of the Year Awards with his work on Quantum Computing. Here he tells us what was involved.
It all started with my Computational Physics Junior Honours Project, where I had the opportunity to learn about Quantum Computing and its applications. My interest in Quantum Computing continued after the project, leading to an EPSRC (Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council) vacation scholarship and a Senior Honours Project, both under the supervision of Dr Elham Kashefi and Prof. Tony Kennedy. In these projects, I looked at the theoretical and experimental aspects of the subject (the latter in collaboration with Dr Philip Walther and Ms Stefanie Barz, University of Vienna), gaining a broad understanding of its present state and the direction it is heading in.
Based on the latter two projects, Dr Kashefi nominated me for the SET Awards. The first round consisted of a short report detailing what was involved in the projects and their importance. This took me to the final round of the Awards, where three students from each category were invited to give a presentation at the Institute of Physics in London. The award ceremony was organised in the evening of the interview and was my personal highlight of the SET Awards, as I had the opportunity to talk to a wide range of great academics and industry leaders.
I was very honoured to represent the schools of Physics and Informatics at such a unique event and to highlight the importance of collaborations between disciplines. Quantum Computing is a great medium for this, since its challenges can only be solved with input from both disciplines, both of which are close to my heart.
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Student entrepreneur wins a place at Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar and the Nobel festivities.
Science and business are often seen as two separate spheres, but as Physics student Eimear O' Carroll explains, when you combine the analytical and problem solving skills of a scientist with a commercial opportunity it can be a recipe for success.
Restored Hearing Ltd produces an innovative sound therapy for sufferers of temporary tinnitus that is effective in just one minute. Using the physics of sound and how the ear responds to different types of sound, we have developed a non-invasive remedy for the ringing in your ears commonly experienced after concerts or listening to your iPod for too long.
Originating as a project for the BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition, the Restored Hearing team comprises Rhona Togher and myself, who were two students on the project, and Anthony Carolan, the project mentor at the time. We won Runner Up Overall and the Health Research Board Award for Medical Innovation in 2009. When investigating funding for further research it was suggested that we market the therapy. We incorporated the company in May 2009, a month before our final high school exams, and Restored Hearing was born.
I have found running a business to be an extremely exciting and rewarding endeavour, if a bit stressful at times when university and working life clash.
Having fallen into entrepreneurship by accident I have found running a business to be an extremely exciting and rewarding endeavour, if a bit stressful at times when university and working life clash. I started working with Launch.ed, the University of Edinburgh student enterprise support service, last year and it has been an integral part of the development of Restored Hearing and my skills as an entrepreneur. My involvement with Launch.ed has led to developing winning business pitches, expanding my network and going to South Korea for the MIT Global Start-Up Workshop on its inaugural scholarship programme.
Rhona and I recently represented Ireland in the Intel/JAYE Sci-preneurship competition in Brussels. Ten international teams were given 24 hours to develop a business idea from scratch that was socially beneficial while being commercially viable. Second place was awarded to Rhona’s team for their noise reduction technology while I was awarded a place at the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar. In December I will be travelling to Stockholm to present Restored Hearing and attend the Nobel lectures and the Nobel Prize ceremony.
We sell the Somtus TM therapy online and have spent the past two years developing the website, gaining national and international publicity for the company (including articles by the Institute of Physics and ABC News) and using physics to solve auditory problems.
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A new type of soft gel developed by School researchers may have important implications for the future use of liquid crystals.
Conventional wisdom says that particles and liquid crystals do not mix. In the latter state of matter, anisotropic molecules (which have direction-dependent properties) align to form various 'mesophases'. The simplest mesophase is the nematic, in which rod shape molecules all point in the same direction. The inclusion of particles disrupts such ordering, and gives rise to energetically costly 'defects' known as disclinations. In the past, therefore, it has proved all but impossible to coax anything more than a handful of particles to disperse in liquid crystalline mesophases.
Now, researchers from the School's Institute of Condensed Matter and Complex Systems have managed to persuade the nematic phase of a well-known liquid crystal to mix with a high concentration of particles. The resulting material is a solid gel. 'Solidifying' liquid crystals this way may have important implications for their application. Liquid crystals are already widely used in display devices, and are increasingly seen as possible biomedical sensors. But liquid crystals flow like liquids, and so hitherto, there is always the need for an external container. The invention of liquid crystalline gels removes this constraint.
Extensive computer simulations allowed the ICMCS researchers to show that the new liquid crystal gel they had made in the test tube derived its rigidity from the disclinations entangling each other and trapping a percolated particle network (see figure, where particles are orange spheres, and disclinates are blue lines). Interestingly, this arrested state of matter has similarities with 'vortex glasses' in Type II superconductors, and may open up new avenues for understanding 'glassy arrest', which remains one of the deepest problems in condensed matter science.
The SUPA Graduate School has instigated Distinguished Visitors and Events Support Programmes. Their purposes are threefold:
- to enhance the training of physics graduate students within SUPA
- to enhance the dissemination of research to and from SUPA
- to enhance SUPA research strength.
SUPA is calling for applications for these two programmes. Applications should be submitted to admin [at] supa.ac.uk by Friday 11th November 2011. All applications will be reviewed and decided upon by the Graduate School Management Committee.
Please also read the guidelines to applying. Applications which do not conform to these guidelines will not be accepted.
Distinguished Visitors Programme
The scheme will fund short visits to Scotland by renowned scientists from elsewhere in the world.
Prospective visitors should be based at one (or more) of the SUPA Graduate School institutions during their stay, and will be expected to provide specific benefits for the training of graduate students and/or research. These benefits might include some or all of the following: taking part in or helping to direct research via generation of new ideas, sharing of expertise by giving short lecture courses, guest lectures and colloquia. Visits to SUPA institutions other than the host institution(s) are strongly encouraged.
Event Support Programme
The scheme can contribute to appropriate Postgraduate Schools, Workshops, and Technical Meetings held in Scotland and organised by members of the SUPA Graduate School.
The proposed event will be expected to provide specific benefits for the training of graduate students. Meetings or workshops with a primary aim of graduate student training will be targeted for support. Likewise, technical meetings that provide graduate student level introductions, or that are making other special provisions to encourage graduate student attendance and participation will be considered.