ATLAS is searching for evidence of Supersymmetry, a theory that predicts a series of particles that are related to the known fundamental particles. Supersymmetry is an attempt to unify the strong and weak forces in the Standard Model. One of the particles predicted by Supersymmetry could be the source of the dark matter. Whether or not Supersymmetry exists, ATLAS is certain to discover new physics. The York ATLAS group collaborated with colleagues in Denmark and in Isreal to search for stable massive particles predicted by Supersymmetry in the 8 TeV data.
We also performed a search for Z' bosons decaying into an electron-muon pair via intermediate tau pairs (a tau is an unstable lepton) in an earlier dataset. Z bosons are particles that mediate the electroweak force so the existence of a Z' boson, a heavy version of the Z boson, would definitely indicate new physics.
On the hardware side, my group worked on the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) upgrade project for 10 years. Our main focus was research and development on the sensor electronics fabrication for the endcap strip detector. We worked particularly closely with the University of Toronto ATLAS ITk team.
Pick-and-place robot at Celestica, with Adam Azoulay
The York ATLAS group helped operate and maintain the Transition Radiation Tracker in the ATLAS inner detector from 2010-2024. This work included performance studies, Monte Carlo simulation and digitization, low- and high-threshold optimization, and some readout electronics (including firmware development).
