Particle physics at the LHC with the ATLAS experiment

The LHC has a long, ambitious programme to shed light on some of the greatest mysteries in physics today, including the properties of the Higgs boson, the nature of dark matter (DM), and the behaviour of the gravitational force at the microscopic scale.

The studies proposed below include analysis of ATLAS data, search optimization, comparison to simulation, and interpretation of results, making use of new theoretical models, statistical tools, and constraints from particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. In proton-proton collisions at the LHC, new particles (signal) hypothetically produced together with other known particles (denoted X below) must be painstakingly separated from competing background due to SM processes or detector imperfections.

You will quickly learn to use C++, R, and Python-based ATLAS analysis and simulation tools, including ROOT, a modular scientific software framework that provides everything needed to deal with big data processing, statistical analysis, visualisation, and storage, and Monte Carlo programs to model the SM and new physics.

During your MSc project you will work within ATLAS physics working groups and/or related groups, such as the LHC DM forum or the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG). If you have not been to CERN, here is your chance.