Physics (Internal)

The Future of Physics: challenges and opportunities at the Large Hadron Collider

This event is part of the Physics Department Colloquia Series.

ABSTRACT: A corner stone of the Standard Model of particle physics has escaped experimental verification: the “Higgs” process that generates mass. In the absence of the Higgs, many theoretical extensions have been proposed, such as supersymmetry, technicolor, and extra dimensions of space. At the LHC, starting this summer, these hypotheses will be confronted by experiment; indeed they all may be insufficient to describe reality, opening the door to more discoveries.

The LHC will be described, showing its size and complexity. I will emphasize the three pillars of the project – the accelerator, the detectors and grid-computing – as well its most salient feature: the cooperation between the worldwide particle physics community to achieve what will become the best human paradigm for future international collaboration in science.