Final Term Paper
8.811 Final Term Paper & participation, mandatory (40%) 2009
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For students in experimental physics
Purpose:
To understand a Physics topic in depth and propose a (reasonably realistic) experimental arrangement to research it. Remember: an experiment is a question to nature to answer. Good questions may provoke unexpected answers. Think of it as a proposal you may have to justify as to get accepted. Good physics taste in selecting the topic will be essential for your career later as to develop an interest strong enough as to persist over years to plan, implement, construct the experiment and obtain data.
Whereas “theories” (better called hypotheses if they cover unexplored territories) may sometimes provide a guide for new research, do not make yourself a slave of a particular one. They may change.
Technicalities:
- Choose a topic by end of October. Aim for a paper of 16 pages maximum.
- Be prepared to give an in class presentation of ~30 minutes December 4th or 9th.
- Hand in the full paper before or on the last day of class.
I or somebody else may help you in 1-2 sessions. (Participation)
Topics – random examples only: You are free to choose different ones, but discuss with me.
- Finding Higgs in WW decays or γγ decays or ZZ
- Anything LHC may make possible by existing or improved detectors
- Top physics
- Axions – existence
- Neutrino mass
- Mixing angles
- Rare decays, violating the SM
- Linear collider: coupling of Higgs to fermions and bosons
- Heavy, new Z’
Consider the physics:
What is the physics question and motivation?
Is it new? What has been researched so far?
The effect/signature to look for – unique?
Discuss the consequences for the effect seen or not seen.
If it is a continuation of existing experiments,
estimate the improvement by your proposal.
The method:
state the specific signal
propose detection components best suited
consider magnitude of backgrounds
define event selection criteria
The detector:
give a sketch with rough dimensions
estimate the intrinsic resolution of the components
consider: multi-scattering, radiative losses, spatial accuracy, etc
Avoid unrealistic designs – give number of elements used
Discuss data analysis:
estimate the time needed to get a significant measurement.
account for background
give an estimate of recording rates
state significance of your discovery or limit obtained
Conclusion
what have we learned?
For students of theory
Purpose
To understand future measurements and their level of difficulty and significance. Nothing is more sad than to base evidence for a hypothesis(Theory) on shaky or premature data. Besides the loss of confidence it may end an carrer.. Einstein knew what to trust, - he worked in his fathers production plant and the Bern Patent office.
Technicalities
same as above
Topics
Your choice –as long as a measurable effect can be argued for.
Physics
Off course you want to make the best arguments for the importance and uniqueness of the
hypothesis chosen.
Signature
There should be a characteristic reaction or behavior (signal) stated which can be experimentally measured. Give a clear hint of how.
Estimate of occurrence
Assume LHC collisions at a luminosity of a) 10 **31 b) 10**34 for one year.
Significance
Give a rough estimate of the significance, assuming a background of a) the size of the signal, b) 10 times the signal, Assess this by Monte Carlo methods.
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