Particle Physics
Access to large-scale experiments at CERN is provided. Research includes top-quark and Higgs-boson physics with CMS at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN, building the LHCb detector and measuring Z and W cross-sections at 7 TeV to 1%, and testing the Standard Model to 1% from the ratio of Z/W cross-sections. For more information, please contact Martin Gruenewald and Ronan McNulty.
Research The Experimental Particle Physics group was established at UCD in 2002 to study particle interactions at the highest possible collision energies, thus exploring new areas in fundamental physics never seen before. This work is carried out within international collaborations of scientists, operating large detectors at particle colliders such as those at Fermilab near Chicago, USA, and at CERN the European Laboratory for Particle Physics near Geneva, Switzerland.
Past Collaborations We are collaborating in the D-Zero experiment, taking data at Fermilab's TEVATRON collider since 2001. Inside the TEVATRON, protons collide with anti-protons at the world's highest collision energy of 2 terra electron volts (TeV). This energy allows us to measure properties of heavy fundamental particles, to test the Standard Model of particle physics in this higher energy regime, and to search for even more massive new particles. We also worked on the L3 experiment at the electron-positron collider LEP at CERN. From 1989 until 2000, LEP provided electron-positron collisions at energies ranging from 87 to 209 giga electron volt (GeV), thus reaching a world record for electron-positron collisions. The large amount of data collected at LEP allows us to study the electroweak interaction with unprecedented precision, and to search for new massive particles not observed before.
Current Collaborations We participate in the (opens in a new window)CMS and (opens in a new window)LHCb experiments at CERN, at the proton-proton Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The collision energy of the LHC is indeed sufficient to settle fundamental questions such as the validity of the Standard Model or to discover manifestations of new physics. We are also exploring possible collaborations for experiments at a future linear collider, providing electron-positron collisions in the TeV energy range, and for experimental tests of general relativity, such as satellite-based searches for gravitational waves in space.
Opportunities We always have opportunities for students who wish to work in our group while studying for a Ph.D. If you are interested, get in touch for more information, or come visit us in the School of Physics at UCD.
For more information, please contact (opens in a new window)Martin Grünewald or (opens in a new window)Ronan McNulty.