CAREER: Searching for New Physics Phenomena and New Audiences

The Standard Model of Particle Physics is an unprecedentedly successful theory of the universe at the smallest scales. However, there exist numerous reasons the theory is unsatisfactory and incomplete. In order to gain insight into these issues, the group led by PI Prof. Lawrence Lee at the University of Tennessee studies the particle collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN outside of Geneva, Switzerland. As the facility able to probe the largest energy densities in the world, the LHC is able to probe the smallest length scales in controlled experiments. In careful analysis of the data from the collisions at the LHC, the group searches for deviations from Standard Model predictions, particularly in the form of new unknown particles. Finding such a new particle would help explain the shortcomings of our current understanding and guide us to a more complete theory of the universe. Given that no significant deviation from the Standard Model has been observed at the LHC yet, finding any new physics phenomena will require new techniques and new data. This project comprises data analyses searching for new particles Beyond the Standard Model in new and innovative ways, upgrading the CMS experiment at the LHC to continue to collect data for decades to come, and communicating this work to the public through fun and educational outreach programs. This educational component includes reaching the public with physics-inspired electronic music through Lee's ColliderScope project and the development of a particle physics educational exhibition in collaboration with a local college of design. PI Lee's group works primarily as members of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment at the LHC. This project has four main objectives. In the search for new physics phenomena, the group will search for new long-lived particles at high masses that travel macroscopic distances into the CMS detector before decaying. Directly looking for the interactions of these particles with the detector, they can be discovered via anomalously large ionization signatures. This work will focus on currently existing data and new data as it's collected. To continue to take increased data in the environment of the High-Luminosity LHC, the group will also work on upgrading the CMS detector itself in the context of the silicon tracker upgrade that provides new track-based triggering abilities to CMS. In particular, the group is involved in the construction, readout, and control software for this upgrade. To communicate the goals of the LHC with the general public, the educational components to this project involve engineering "lissajous" music in which particle physics imagery is encoded in audio waveforms that can be visualized on oscilloscopes, and an educational exhibition explaining cosmic ray physics to K-12 students as well as training students of design in the technical skills common to particle physics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.