Welcome at the Research Group Elementary Particle Physics
The research group experimental particle physics of the Gent University studies the fundamental building blocks of matter. We investigate the basic constituents of matter and how they combine to form matter. Our research is concentrated on three topics:
Nucleonstructure
In Nucleonstructure we investigate the internal structure of protons and neutrons, the constituents of the atomic nucleus.
The Hermes experiment studies the spin structure of nucleons. By analyzing deep inelastic scattering reactions, we try to determine how the nucleon spin is generated by the quarks and gluons, of which the nucleon consists.
High Energetic Cosmic Radiation
Cosmic radiation contains particles with very high energies. It is unclear how these high energies are achieved. Neutrino's do not have an electric charge and consequently are not deflected in an external magnetic field. Those neutrino's form a good messenger of black holes, Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) or supernova remnants. Moreover, by analyzing neutrino fluxes we may gain insight in dark matter like Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) or other supersymmetric particles.
The IceCube experiment, located at the South Pole detects neutrino's by their interaction in the Antarctic ice. The research carried out by our research group is twofold. On the one hand we investigate the domain between the knee and the ankle of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays by analyzing the data obtained using the IceTop detector. On the other hand, the flux of ultra high energy neutrino's is investigated. These energies extend to the PeV and EeV range. Using acoustic detection techniques, these very high energy neutrino's can be investigated.
Our group is a member of the IceCube collaboration since 2005.
High Energy Physics
The largest particle accelerator ever built, the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC), is now operational in CERN,
Switzerland. Protons with an energy of 7 TeV will collide and
eventually create enough energy to produce the Higgs particle. This boson is the last keystone of the Standard Model of matter. If
the particle is found, our understanding of fundamental particles and
their interactions will be confirmed. If not, we will be certain that
something is not correct with our current model. Apart from the Higgs
mechanism, possibly suppersymmetric particles may be
discovered at the LHC accelerator facility.
In 2007 our group joined the CMS collaboration, one of the two LHC experiments.