Project description
Hunting the phantom particles
For decades, physicists believed quarks (the tiny building blocks of matter) combined only in pairs or trios. That view changed in 2015, when researchers discovered pentaquarks, exotic particles made of five quarks. Their existence opened a new frontier in understanding the strong force, one of nature’s most mysterious interactions. Yet theory alone cannot predict how such states form. With this in mind, the EU-funded PHANTOM project will use the latest, most powerful LHCb dataset to search unexplored channels where pentaquarks may emerge. By applying novel reconstruction methods and advanced analysis techniques, PHANTOM aims to unravel quark interactions. These insights could reshape particle physics and ripple into other scientific fields.
Objective
Pentaquarks, recently discovered in LHCb at CERN became one of the most important discoveries of the last century. Quarks combine in threes to make up protons and neutrons, a quark and an antiquark form a meson. It was long hypothesized that other multiquark states should exist in Nature, among those - tetraquarks, made of four quarks, and pentaquarks - made of five quarks. Only in 2015 the LHCb experiment yielded a discovery of such states. Because of the complexity of Quantum Chromodynamics, theoretical predictions are very difficult to make. Input from the experiment is needed to steer the field toward understanding the interactions between quarks mediated by the strong force.
During this project, the data analysis will be carried out using the latest and most extensive LHCb data set. It will be focused on a new and unstudied channel where pentaquarks are predicted to appear. Novel methods of particle reconstruction and reproducible analysis techniques will be employed which enable an analysis of a much larger scale and complexity. A kinematic over-constraint method called Extended Cone Closure, which was developed by myself will be used to look for pentaquarks in a channel inaccessible before. With the new Run3 LHCb dataset, improved particle identification efficiency and higher luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider, PHANTOM promises to provide much-needed input to the theory community. The results of this pentaquark search will be published in high-impact journals such as Nature Physics. The methods used in this analysis will be made available to the scientific community. Many aspects of such data analysis can be used in other fields of Physics and neighbouring fields of science. This will ensure the extensive transfer of knowledge between myself and the host institute - Vilnius University. A vast infrastructure is available in Vilnius to undertake such a project.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics particle accelerator
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics quarks
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.4.1 - Widening participation and spreading excellence
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-02
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
01513 Vilnius
Lithuania
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.