A complete day of particle physics for high-school and CEGEP students
Wondering what's particle physics? Heard about the Higgs boson and would like to know more? Think you are already an expert in particle physics and want to test off your skills by analyzing real data? If you said yes to any of these questions, then you ought to come to the free particle physics Masterclass organized by the ATLAS experiment research group at McGill University!
To start the day off, and to give information needed for the rest of day, one or two lectures about particle physics will be given. These lectures will introduce particle physics, also known as high-energy physics (as will be explained why). The current status of particle physics research will also be presented.
Chances are that you'll be able to first-handedly see particle interactions. A homemade cloud chamber should make possible the observation of various particles. In addition, a tour of our lab will show you cutting edge technology in particle detectors.
Cancelled in 2021
We will have a videoconference with physicists at the CERN laboratory, the world's biggest particle physics laboratory. They are doctoral students working for the ATLAS McGill group. They will show the ATLAS New Small Wheel dectors being build at CERN.
After some briefing, you'll able to use software used to do actual particle physics research. You'll then be given data that was measured by the ATLAS detector itself. It will be up to you to measure the mass of some particles using the data.
You'll be a genuine particle physicist by the end of the day. You'll receive an official certificate with the endorsement of McGill's Department of Physics to celebrate that, with which you can show off to all your non particle physicist friends!
To register, simply send an email to the contact at the bottom of the page.
Because of covid restrictions, this year's masterclass will be held on zoom. It is free but registration is mandatory
4th March - Day 1, Morning session
5th March - Day 2, Afternoon session
Here are some photos from a previous edition of the Masterclass. You can see the real ATLAS detector located near Geneva, at CERN, when it was still under construction with the simulated effect of a proton-proton collision superimposed. As the full detector is quite hard to photograph in its entirety, we have our LEGO ATLAS model on-hand! You can also see data being analyzed by participants of previous masterclasses and our chat with our CERN contacts.
McGill Atlas Research Group
Our research group studies a wide range of topics. Going from upgrading the hardware of the ATLAS detector to searching for physics phenomena predicted by new theories, including black holes and supersymmetric particles. We also work on measuring parameters predicted by the Standard Model and in the day-to-day operations of ATLAS.
More information abous our team and our research can be found here
The 2021 edition of the particle masterclass with be run with the help of McGill Belle II group and of Mcgill Building 21.
For any questions or if you would like to cancel your registration, please contact:
atlas-masterclass@physics.mcgill.ca
