Top-quark / Standard Model Physics at ATLAS

Top-quark / Standard Model Physics at ATLAS

We expect to offer an STFC-funded studentship in this area starting in Sept/Oct 2020

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is probing the structure of matter at the highest energies achieved in a collider.  By making precision measurements of top-quark and electroweak physics we can probe the structure of the Standard Model, looking for deviations that could indicate new physics, and complementing the Higgs boson measurements that are also taking place in the group.

We also study the behaviour of the strong nuclear force, Quantum Chromodynamics, which is a key factor in all LHC analyses and presents many theoretical difficulties that can only be resolved by confronting predictions with increasingly challenging experimental measurements. Our QCD analysis efforts are centred on understanding how heavy c and b quarks are produced, and the structure of QCD particle jets: these aspects of QCD are central to our programme of Higgs and top-quark measurements.

PhD students in this area undertake exciting research within a strong Glasgow ATLAS group, analysing data to characterise hadronic interactions at LHC energies, and participating in the operation of the experiment.  Students are expected to travel for short trips to CERN, Geneva and have the opportunity to spend an extended period at CERN.

ATLAS Detector