Off the Beaten Track: Accelerating Discoveries with Unconventional Searches and Next-generation Pixel Detectors

Countless hints, from natural phenomena like dark matter, to theoretical concerns such as the hierarchy puzzle, strongly suggest the existence of Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) particles at energy scales probed by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This award aims to address the question of why we’ve yet to see any evidence of these new particles thus far and enable discoveries by breaking traditional search paradigms and building next generation pixel detectors. The research funded by this award will also push the boundaries of the ATLAS experiment’s capabilities. This will ensure high quality science at the upcoming High Luminosity LHC by upgrading the ATLAS Pixel Detector, improving the overall tracking capabilities in the face of unprecedented pile-up. The broader impacts of this award extend beyond enabling discoveries at high energy colliders. The research funded by this award represents a complete program for training students and postdocs. Data analysis techniques and instrumentation are shared with the wider scientific community and industry. In particular, developing cross-cutting technologies such as silicon sensors and microelectronics is integral to enriching the broader scientific landscape. Finally, this award will inspire the next generation of scientists through outreach programs that emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion. The vast majority of LHC searches have focused on scenarios where high energy jets, photons, or leptons originate from the primary collision. However, many compelling BSM scenarios with long-lived particles may have evaded these constraints, resulting in displaced or anomalous tracks. One of the most exciting targets for the next LHC run is to follow up on an excess of events in a search for highly ionizing charged particles. This award will investigate this excess in a statistically independent dataset and extend our sensitivity by adding complementary measurements from the muon spectrometer. 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.