Summer Project in Particle Physics
Instructor: Dr Seema Sharma
During my summer break, I enthusiastically undertook a research project in particle physics, The project started off with me studying Special Relativity from the book Introduction to Special Relativity by Robert Resnick.
This book served as a perfect build-up for my understanding of relativity concepts from my previous undergraduate physics courses. It provided insights into the scientific developments that led to the theory of relativity and the problems this theory addressed. Additionally, I gained a glimpse into Relativistic Kinematics and Dynamics, finding answers to some of the paradoxes typically posed in the realms of relativity.
Then I got into reading the book The Cosmic Onion by Frank Close. This book fulfilled my curiosity of understanding the developments that we’ve made till now in developing the Standard Model of Physics as I learnt about the fundamental particles like Leptons, Bosons and Quarks.
This book, coupled with supplementary materials from my instructor, significantly enriched my understanding of the Standard Model.
Alongside my readings, I attended Dr. Seema’s weekly research group meetings, which enhanced my knowledge and provided insight into the collaborative and dynamic nature of scientific research.
And then, I immersed myself in the data analysis of particle interactions, where my instructor assigned me a task to critically analyse the four-vector data of a Z boson and a neutrino-antineutrino pair. My focus was also on analyzing the invariant and transverse mass of the boson and the pair respectively. Adopting a systematic approach, my goal was to conclude that this pair was indeed produced by the decay of the Z boson.
A Brief Collection of the Graphs I Engaged With.
To generate the graphs, I familiarized myself with the ROOT Toolkit, utilized for processing data from the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Given ROOT’s foundation in C++, , I had to revise my basic concepts of the language.
Concluding my summer project in particle physics, I found it to be highly rewarding. I deepened my understanding of Special Relativity, explored the Standard Model, participated actively in Dr. Seema’s research group meetings, and honed my data analysis skills using the ROOT Toolkit, enhancing both my theoretical and practical expertise.
