Search for Micro Black Hole Production at the LHC

Project Description:

One of the biggest mysteries in modern physics is whether or not quantum field theories and general relativity can be described in a common joint theory which combines the physics of the very small with the physics of the cosmological scale. Currently we have no theory of quantum gravity, but we may be able to experimentally see its effects at the LHC. Low scale or quantum gravity effects could arise in very energetic collisions between quarks which create a microscopic black hole. Some simple but robust models exist and are simulated using the BlackMax programe (see link below). Such black holes will decay instantly via Hawking radiation and will leave tell-tale signatures in the detector. In this project the search would look for electron-muon pairs in lepton flavour violating decays. A search in this channel will conveniently suppress the large Standard Model background from Drell-Yan muon pair or electron pair production q+qbar --> Z --> e+e- or mu+mu-

Requirements:

Student expected to travel frequently to Geneva, and possibly spent 1 year at CERN depending on funding.
Excellent programming skills in C++, python, linux/unix

SPA Academics: Eram Rizvi