The ATLAS physics program at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland is in full operation, with the LHC now delivering proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV collision energy. The NYU group continues to take a leading role in the implementation of the ATLAS detector's triggering system used to select collisions with large or imbalanced transverse momentum signatures. Through this program of effort, the NYU group proposes to continue its searches for new phenomena, to further develop statistical tools and techniques, and to maintain responsibility for the transverse energy trigger signatures. The group also aims to be a leader in a new analysis archival strategy and to continue R&D work on the tracker upgrade needed for the upgraded collider, the HL-LHC.
Analytically, the group will leverage the expertise gained from measurement of the top-antitop production cross section in the dilepton final state to search for the Higgs boson and exotic physics in the top sector. If a new particle is discovered in searches for the Higgs boson, the group plans to use its expertise in statistical techniques and the vector boson fusion production mode to measure the new particle's properties and confirm if it is indeed responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking. NYU also plans to commission a new detector signature from highly collimated groups of leptons, a generic prediction from a class of models motivated by observations in dark matter searches. These analyses also provide the group with the depth and breadth of experience necessary to deal with surprises in the data.
Technically, for upgrade of ATLAS, NYU has developed an IR-laser system for study of prototype silicon strip detectors to be used in the ATLAS upgrade required for the HL-LHC. It plans to develop a modified system to allow rapid tests of detectors read out with digital chips being developed by ATLAS/CERN.
The NYU group is engaged in two distinct areas of broader impacts of their research effort. The first of these is the development a large exhibit on the LHC physics program for display at public events. The exhibit has been seen by thousands of people in diverse audiences in events in New York, Illinois, and California. The group proposes to extend this public outreach by further developing this exhibit, adding new interactive components and updated results. This will be done with the involvement of educators and students from the NYU Department of Teaching and Learning, who will help make this exhibit even more accessible to the K-12 population. The exhibit will be shown at science fairs and other venues.
For the second effort, the NYU group is actively involved in the important area of Data Preservation and Open Access. The statistical tools (under the name RECAST) that continue to be developed as part of this proposal have broader impacts within the physics community, and are gaining attention outside of physics as well. The question of how to archive data in high energy physics that allows future use (such as confronting new theories with preexisting data) is a daunting one, as the expertise and software required to do such analysis fade with time. The RECAST framework proposed by the NYU group represents a new approach to data management and access, which can address a crucial issue for the LHC and serve as a model for a broad range of scientific disciplines.
