What is ATLAS?
What is ATLAS?
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ATLAS is one of the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland. It is one of the experiments responsible for the discovery of the Higgs boson. Scientists at the LHC collide protons that are moving nearly at the speed of light to attempt to answer questions about our universe: what are the basic blocks of our universe? What is dark matter? What other physics is out there for us to uncover?
Its detector is located 100 m underground at the border of France and Switzerland and is 150 feet long and 80 feet wide. We need such a large detector to capture the energy and the direction the particles produced from the proton-proton collision. If you'd like to learn more about the ATLAS detector, physics using the ATLAS detector, or the ATLAS experiment, click on the following link: ATLAS/discover
What is QuarkNet?
What is QuarkNet?
The Masterclass is sponsored in part by QuarkNet. QuarkNet is a NSF-funded organization dedicated to bringing physics research in the classroom by providing training to both teachers and students.
The Masterclass experience
The Masterclass experience
The day will start off with an introduction by Berkeley Lab scientists who are directly involved with the ATLAS experiment. The students will then analyze their very own ATLAS data in a group to produce results, which scientists used to claim discoveries such as the Higgs boson!
Students will be supervised the entire day by Berkeley Lab scientist mentors trained to lead these sessions and provide assistance.
The data analysis project
The data analysis project
Students will be searching for one our force carrier particles, the Z boson, carrier of the weak force. There are two weak force carrier bosons: W boson, which is responsible for nuclear decay, and the Z boson, which has a more complicated purpose.
The Z boson allows neutrinos to interact among themselves but also to scatter against electrons, which allowed scientists to study neutrinos coming from the sun! To learn more about the Z and W bosons, and the other known particles in our universe, check out the Particle Adventure!
We produce Z bosons when we collide protons; however, we do not detect the Z boson directly because it decays very quickly. Instead, we see its decay products: electrons or muons. This video explains how Z bosons are produced and decay in the ATLAS detector:
actual Z mass measurement using the ATLAS detector
Just like LHC scientists, students will look for Z bosons by producing plots of its mass.
To learn more about what you will be working on, click on the following link: Welcome to the Z path
Masterclass on social media
Masterclass on social media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalParticlePhysicsMasterclasses/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/physicsIMC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ippogorg/
Post about your Masterclass experience using the hashtags: #physicsIMC and #BerkeleyIMC
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