SEMINAR

LHCSeminar: In search of the genetic code of our universe: The status of physics at the LHC

Joe Incandela

(University of California Santa Barbara, USA)

Sala 2.8.3, IST, Dept. de Física
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 04:00 PM

Abstract

One of the primary goals of modern particle physics is the discovery of "new physics" - i.e. new field quanta that do not exist (or are not seen) in our daily life. Most of these particles are expected to be extremely unstable, decaying almost instantaneously after they are created, and were only abundant in earlier, hotter periods of the universe. Others, like dark matter, are still around but do not interact with everyday matter to any significant degree. The reason for us to be interested in particles that do not even exist in the usual sense is that they help determine the properties of the forces and particles that make up the visible universe. These concepts will be expanded upon and the status of the search for new physics at the LHC will be reported with emphasis on the search for the Higgs boson, Supersymmetry and several examples of new Exotic forces.