GRK 2044:  Mass and Symmetries after the Discovery of the Higgs Particle at the LHC

• Subject Area: Particles, Nuclei and Fields
• Term: from 2015 to 2024
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 251068954

After the milestone of the discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in2012 crucial basic questions remain still unanswered: Is the discovered Higgs boson in line with the Standard Model (SM) prediction, how does it fit into extended models? Up to which energy is the SM valid, and is our picture of electroweak symmetry breaking correct? Are there new symmetries and new particles at the TeV scale? Which particles form Dark Matter (DM), and how do they fit into theoretical models? Can DM particles be produced and detected at the LHC? Can they be detected directly in astroparticle physics experiments?The goal of the planned research training group is to make significant and in many places leading contributions to answer those open key questions in the cooperation and interplay of theoretical and experimental physics. The interconnected research activities belong to the following areas: a) Experimental particle physics: analysis of data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and detector research and development for the ATLAS experiment for the high-luminosity upgrade of the LHC for precision investigations of the Higgs boson, of electroweak symmetry breaking and important key processes, the search for new particles and symmetries in particular with respect to the nature of DM. b) Experimental astroparticle physics: analysis of data from the XENON at the LNGS and CAST experiments and detector research and development for the DARWIN experiment for the direct search for candidates for DM. c) Theoretical particle physics: precision predictions for the investigation of the nature of the Higgs particle, electroweak symmetry breaking and for testing explicit models beyond the SM and development of fieldtheoretical concepts and methods.The structured education in the research training group comprises, apart from specializations in the various research fields, the transfer of knowledge and methodologies between experiment and theory and, thus, does not only stimulate the creativity in the own research project, but also fosters key professional skills for an academic as well as a non-academic career path. Moreover, the strong engagement with CERN, the connection to the LHC Higgs Cross Section Working Group, as well as Freiburg's cooperationin international ATLAS, CAST, and XENON experiments oer an excellent basis for education and research at the highest possible level and networking within the scientific community.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Markus Schumacher
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Stefan Dittmaier; Professor Dr. Horst Fischer; Professorin Dr. Beate Heinemann; Professor Dr. Gregor Herten; Professor Dr. Harald Ita; Professor Dr. Karl Jakobs; Dr. Andrea Knue, since 10/2021; Dr. Ulrich Parzefall; Professor Dr. Marc Schumann; Professor Dr. Stefan Vogl, since 10/2021