ATLAS Oxford Group

The ATLAS detector is one of two general-purpose experiments for Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva. It is a detector optimized for discovery of the Higgs boson and for direct searches for New Physics beyond the Standard Model (SM).

We have been one of the key collaborators in the project for more than a decade - working on the design, prototyping, construction and commissioning of the detector, and in particular of the Semiconductor Tracker barrels (which were assembled in the basement of the Denys Wilkinson Building).

The LHC finished its first run (2009 - 2013) successfully and delivered 30 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at 7 TeV and 8 TeV centre of mass energy. It is currently undergoing machine maintenance to prepare it for the high energy run at 14 TeV in 2015.

Though the LHC operation has paused there is plenty of data to be analyzed and the upcoming 14 TeV run and high luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC) of ATLAS has to be prepared. The ATLAS collaboration recorded 27 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data and members of our group are:

• Leading ATLAS physics analyses, including Searches for New Physics beyond the SM, understanding the properties of the Higgs boson and Standard Model precision measurements.
• On-site at CERN preparing the triggers, simulations, software and physics analyses for the 14 TeV run.
• Performing in-house R&D towards a replacement tracking detector, designed to operate at ten times the current rate of collisions for the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC in 2020 (HL-LHC).

For more information please check our Research Activities.