High Energy Physics Research at the CMS Experiment

The Standard Model of particle physics has been a successful theory, agreeing with decades of experimental observations involving weak, electromagnetic, and strong interactions. The discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC was further confirmation of this success. However, the Standard Model remains an incomplete theory. Precise measurements of the properties of the Higgs boson at the LHC could provide insight into new physics beyond the Standard Model. This research focuses on exploiting the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to search for new particles, study the decay of Higgs bosons, carry out precision measurements of other Standard Model (SM) processes, use jet substructure to reconstruct high-momentum objects, and extend the capabilities of the CMS particle-tracking detector to increase its acceptance and tolerance to high collision rates. New cutting-edge machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques will be used for data analysis, detector operations, and reconstruction of collision events. The research activity will also foster collaboration with high school teachers and students through the QuarkNet and Science Olympiad outreach efforts. This research will search for subtle signatures of Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics using advanced methods for identifying rare signals and addressing systematic uncertainties. These include detailed studies of the properties of the Higgs boson, extending the search program for BSM physics, and systematically improving techniques to maximize the physics potential. This research will also extend the capabilities of the CMS tracking detector to handle conditions at the High Luminosity LHC, extend its geometric coverage, and add tracking information to the far-forward particle flow algorithm. In addition, studies will be performed on the properties of highly Lorentz-boosted SM Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quark-antiquark pairs to fully explore the Higgs coupling to quarks, as well as to search for new phenomena in unexplored signatures at higher masses, such as new heavy vector bosons. This program will also develop and maintain object reconstruction for heavy- and light-flavor jets, as well as perform measurements of SM physics processes including production of W/Z/gamma in association with heavy flavor jets, and detailed understanding of the quantum chromodynamic evolution of jets. 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.