Prof. Tim Andeen, The University of Texas at Austin

"Physics from the Top: Updates from the ATLAS Experiment"

Abstract:

In December 2018, the Large Hadron Collider completed a three-year data collection run. Since then, particle physicists on the ATLAS and CMS experiments have been analyzing the largest ever dataset of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions. What will this new dataset reveal? In this talk, we will look beyond the current theory of the building blocks of the Standard Model and discuss what motivates our search for exotic new particles. Discovering these minuscule motes of matter could have a tremendous impact on our understanding of physics as a whole: from a better grasp of the Higgs boson and electroweak symmetry breaking, to unraveling the secrets of dark matter. The new dataset contains more than 20 times the number of top quarks seen before. We will highlight several searches and measurements that capitalize on this abundance. None of these investigations are possible without the particle detectors that make up the ATLAS experiment. We will conclude with remarks on the ongoing and upcoming detector upgrades and highlight our work improving these enormous experiments that observe the ephemeral particles of our universe.