LHCb

LHCb is a detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Its primary aim is to study differences between matter and antimatter (termed CP violation) in decays of beauty and charm hadrons . The level of CP violation provided by the Standard Model does not predict a large enough difference to explain why our universe is dominated by matter. LHCb aims to find new sources of CP violation that would be unambiguous signs of New Physics.

The Edinburgh group takes an active role both in the analysis of data collected by the experiment and detector development and operation. The LHCb experiment has recently undergone a substantial upgrade to allow operation with a higher rate of proton-proton collisions with improved performance. The Edinburgh group is involved both in the design of the upgraded Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector and studies of the performance of the upgraded LHCb detector as a whole. In addition, the group is undertaking new activities for a future upgrade of the detector for operation in the late 2020s and 2030s. The group’s activities are led by Prof Franz Muheim.

Physics analysis

We are leading a wide range of analyses throughout the LHCb collaboration.

  • Measurement of CP violation in the golden decay mode Bs → J/ψ φ, which is one of the roadmap measurements for the LHCb experiment.

  • Measurements of CP violation and T violation in b→s loop transitions ('charmless b-decays') such as Bs → φφ and Bs → f(980)φ.

  • Investigations of the Bs meson through lifetime measurements in CP-eigenstate final states.

  • CKM parameter measurements using semi-leptonic decays of B-hadrons.

  • Studies of exotic hadrons such as the X(3872), which is a candidate bound state of four quarks, a tetraquark. We are also leading searches for new bound states of five quarks, pentaquarks. 

  • Studies of the properties of the charm sector, including characterisation of CP violation in charm mesons - which was observed for the first time in 2019 at LHCb - and searches for new charm hadrons.

  • High-precision measurements of the electroweak sector, testing the validity of the Standard Model.

The latest exciting results from the LHCb experiment can be found on the LHCb public page.

Detector development and operation

  • LHCb Edinburgh has played an active role in the development of the RICH detector since before the LHC began the main data taking in 2010. During LHC data-taking, the Edinburgh group is involved in the continuous operation of the RICH. For the LHCb upgrade we performed R+D for the new MaPMT photon detectors, leading Quality Assurance testing of these devices.

  • Edinburgh also plays a central role in preparation for a future upgrade of the LHCb experiment, leading efforts on the RICH, TORCH and Mighty Tracker detectors.

PhD project opportunities in LHCb

People in LHCb

Telephone numbers in the list below are shown as UK numbers. Callers from outside the UK should remove the leading zero and use the UK country code (+44).

NamePositionContact detailsLocationPhoto
Academic staff
William BarterUKRI Future Leaders Fellow
JCMB
3415
Photo of William Barter
Peter ClarkeProfessor
JCMB
3421
Photo of Peter Clarke
Silvia GambettaLecturer
JCMB
3415
Franz MuheimProfessor
JCMB
3410
Photo of Franz Muheim
Matthew NeedhamReader
JCMB
3401
Mark WilliamsRoyal Society University Research Fellow
JCMB
3409
Photo of Mark Williams
Research staff
Federico BettiPostdoctoral Research Associate on the LHCb experiment
JCMB
Emma BuchananPDRA on Silicon Detector Development
JCMB
3422
Robert CurrieGridPP Site Administrator / Group Computing Expert / Software Architect
JCMB
3420
Stephan EisenhardtSenior Research Fellow
JCMB
3412
Photo of Stephan Eisenhardt
Prasanth Krishnan Kodassery PadmalayammadamPostdoctoral Research Associate on the LHCb Experiment
JCMB
4310
Lais Soares LavraPostdoctoral Research Associate on the LHCb experiment
JCMB
Federica OlivaPostdoctoral Research Associate
JCMB
3411
Ozlem OzcelikPostdoctoral Research Associate on the LHCb experiment
JCMB
Gediminas SarpisPostdoctoral Research Associate on the LHCb experiment
JCMB
3422
Research postgraduates
Abhishek BoharePostgraduate Student
JCMB
3305
Keira FarmerPostgraduate Student
JCMB
Michael KanePostgraduate Student
JCMB
3305
Yiming LiuPostgraduate Student
JCMB
3305
Ryunosuke O'NeilPostgraduate Student
JCMB
Mary Richardson-SlipperPostgraduate Student
JCMB
3305