High energy physics and instrumentation with the LHC-CERN

Abstract

The involvement of São Paulo research institutions in large collaborations of high energy Physics over the past few years, largely financed by FAPESP, has brought important results for Brazilian science, as the development of the SAMPA chip, a product of high technology already used by several similar experiments around the world, and the investigation of fundamental Physics processes, such as the origin of mass. This proposal aims to support the participation of São Paulo groups over the next five years in the ALICE and ATLAS experiments of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the collaboration for research and development in nuclear instrumentation, RD51, all located in the European laboratory CERN. By consolidating in a single project São Paulo groups participation in three collaborations, the aim is to optimize both financial and human resources, taking advantage of common and complementary knowledge present in these three collaborations. Built upon the vast experience in Physics and engineering acquired by these groups over the last several years in LHC related projects, this proposal will focus on upmost questions in the electroweak and strong sectors of the Standard Model as well as Physics searches beyond it. The research and development of Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGD) and Ultra-Fast Semiconductor Detectors (UFSD) represent a significant part of the effort in this project. It aims a relevant participation in the design, construction and operation of new detector systems in the aforementioned collaborations while contributing to strategically reduce the dependency of the nation on state-of-the-art technology for radiation detection and signal processing. This goal will be accomplished through interdisciplinary partnerships, adapting these novel instrumentation developments for local applications. (AU)