Exp. Elementary Particle

The Experimental Elementary Particle and Astroparticle Physics group concentrates its efforts on the following three activities: DØ, CMS, and the Pierre Auger Observatory.

DØ
The DØ detector in the Tevatron collider at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois measures the products of 2 TeV head-on collisions of protons and antiprotons. Fermilab is unique because nowhere else in the world are such high energies, essential for the study of such massive particles as the top quark, available. At Northeastern we are participating in improving the muon detector system, in event and data visualization, in the upgrade of the trigger system, and in the analysis of top-quark properties.

Compact Muon Solenoid at LHC
The CMS detector, which has been approved for the LHC (the Large Hadron Collider at CERN) is presently being constructed by a large international collaboration. Operating at 14 TeV, in the energy range beyond Fermilab, it will search for signals of new physics such as the elusive Higgs particle and supersymmetric particles. We are working on the APD-based electromagnetic calorimeter readout, the alignment system for the muon endcap chambers, data visualization, and grid-based computing.

Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory makes use of the one accelerator bigger than either the Tevatron or the LHC-the one that gives us cosmic rays from intergalactic space. Currently taking data with the partially instrumented southern detector in Argentina, the PAO observes the showers of particles coming from ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Northeastern is providing software for data analysis and manpower at the detector.

The Experimental Elementary Particle and Astroparticle Physics faculty includes Professors George Alverson (Associate), Emanuela Barberis (Assistant), Stephen Reucroft, John Swain (Associate), and Darien Wood (Associate).