Dr Eram Rizvi Project Abstracts
BSc Projects
Micro Black Hole Production at the LHC
Some models of low scale quantum gravity predict the formation of micro- black holes in collisions of high energy particles far below the Planck scale and within the energy reach of the Large Hadron Collider. In this project a simulation program BlackMax will be used to investigate the parameter space for some of these models and to estimate the uncertainty on the predictions arising from an imprecise knowledge of the momentum distributions of quarks and gluons within the proton. The project is split into two parts. The first part will require extensive use of C++ to create compact and efficient data structures within which to store many collision simulations. In the second part of the project the ROOT program developed at CERN will be used to analyse the simulated collisions and to estimate the uncertainties on the predicted cross sections. The parameter space will be explored to reject models which may already be inconsistent with existing collider data.
Physics potential of a proposed new electron-proton collider
A proposal is being made for a new electron-proton collider to run simultaneously with the LHC at CERN. In this project the student will study the possible physics impact of such a new collider in determining electroweak parameters of the Standard Model of particle physics, and the parton densities of the proton. This project will make use of the simple FORTRAN programming language.
(Prerequisite: a working knowledge of linux operating systems would be advantageous.)
Extraction of quark and gluon densities of the proton
The quark and gluon content of the proton can only be determined directly from experimental data of high energy collisions. The extraction of these "parton" density functions (PDFs) uses a least squares approach to minimise a χ2 function comparing data with theoretical expections based on the PDFs which are parameterised by polynomial functions. The extraction involves finding the best parameters of the polynomial functions consistent with the data. In this project the student will attempt to estimate the uncertainty on the PDFs arising from the choice of functional form - the so-called parameterisation uncertainty. This will require choosing different forms, or even spline functions.
This challenging project is suitable for a mathematically able student with a good grasp of programming and knowledge of the linux operating system. The programming will be done in the simple FORTRAN language.
MSci Review Projects
Global warming and cosmic rays
The IPCC is the United Nations body that assesses the scientific evidence for, and possible causes of climate change. In its 4th Assesment Report they have published a huge body of evidence from many different areas of science, which taken together indicate a globally warming climate caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. In this project the student will review the latest evidence and will have the opportunity to look in detail at issues regarding estimates of the past climate, namely discrepancies in the proxy temperature series, and the evidence for the global or local nature of the Medieval Warm Period, and the Little Ice Age. Recent debate centres on the role of the sun in the Earth's climate. The Danish scientist Henrik Svensmark has claimed a link between solar activity and cosmic rays which seed cloud formation and therefore affects the albedo of the Earth. This is hotly contested and some of the assumptions are being tested by the CLOUD experiment at CERN.
MSci Projects
Studies of Di-Muon production at the LHC
The LHC has been designed to produce copious quantitites of the Z0 boson whose properties have been determined by the SLC and LEP accelerators previously. In this project simulated LHC data will be used to study the reaction rate (or cross section) of two muons from Z0 decays. Statistical techniques will be used to filter the data and determine the event rate and assess the measurement capability of the ATLAS detector.
A knowledge of C++ and linux will be required.
