Objective
Understanding the origin of mass is one of the primary goals of elementary particle physics. In the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics the fundamental particles obtain mass by the Higgs mechanism, which predicts the existence of the Higgs boson. The discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) marks the start of a programme of experimental studies to determine if the Higgs boson has the properties predicted by the SM. This proposal aims to measure the production of the Higgs boson in association with top quark pairs (ttH). This process gives direct access to the coupling between the Higgs boson and the heaviest known fundamental particle, the top quark, and hence will provide fundamental information on the origin of fermion masses.
The fellowship is a staged project, where the first part of the project uses the existing ATLAS data to make precise measurements of additional jet radiation in high transverse momentum top events. These measurements will provide the essential understanding of the main background to the ttH process and will also be of significant scientific interest in their own right. The second part of the project focusses on preparing the ATLAS data for the upcoming high energy LHC run, in particular commissioning the tracking detector that is undergoing a significant upgrade. This detector is essential to the successful detection of the ttH process. The final stage of the project will use state-of-the-art techniques to select the decay products of boosted top and Higgs particles. This will rely on the precise calibration of the techniques, which will be done in situ using the ATLAS data. The final outcome will be a search for ttH production, with the potential for a first direct measurement of the coupling between the Higgs boson and the top quark. This would be a significant step in understanding the Higgs boson and the origin of fermion masses.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsparticle accelerator
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsfermions
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsquarks
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicshiggs bosons
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)Coordinator
1211 GENEVE 23
Switzerland