US LHC Users Organization Annual Meeting 2010

28 Oct 2010, 09:00 → 30 Oct 2010, 19:15 US/Central

Wilson Hall (Fermilab)

Third Annual Meeting of the US LHC Users Organization.

Thursday, 28 October

09:00 → 12:30 Communications Workshop (by invitation only)

Convener: Katie Yurkewicz

10:15 → 10:35 Coffee break

12:30 → 14:00 Lunch break

Fermilab cafeteria (participants cover their own cost)

14:00 → 17:00 Media Training

Convener: Katie Yurkewicz (Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (Fermilab))

17:00 → 18:15 US LHC Executive Committee Meeting

18:15 → 19:30 Welcome reception

Friday, 29 October

08:00 → 09:00 Check-in, Fee payment

09:00 → 09:10 Welcome to Fermilab

Convener: Dr Pier Oddone (Fermilab)

09:10 → 09:40 US LUO Chair's Report

Convener: Harvey Newman (California Institute of Technology (CALTECH))

slides

• USLUOIntroChairFinal_hbn102910.pdf
• USLUOIntroChairFinal_hbn102910.pptx
• USLUOMeetAgenda_Final1028to3010.pdf
• USLUOMeetAgenda_Final1028to3010.pptx

09:40 → 10:35 Status of the LHC

Convener: Steve Myers (CERN)

slides 101029_Myers_USLUO_LHC_and_Plans_as_uploaded.pdf 101029_Myers_USLUO_LHC_and_Plans_as_uploaded.pptx

10:35 → 10:55 Coffee Break

10:55 → 11:20 LARP: US Collaboration on the US Accelerator and Injector Chain

slides larp_usluo_20101029.pdf larp_usluo_20101029.pptx

11:20 → 12:10 Discussion and Recommendation: USLUO - An APS Forum?

Convener: Harvey Newman (California Institute of Technology (CALTECH))

slides USLUO_APSUnit102810.pdf USLUO_APSUnit102810.pptx

12:10 → 12:35 Student Talk - CMS (Kubik, Northwestern)

Inclusive W/Z Cross Section Measurement at CMS

Andrew Michael Kubik, Northwestern University
Abstract:
We present the CMS measurement of the W and Z inclusive production cross
sections in proton-proton collisions with sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC.
Results are obtained using both the electron and muon channels and
approximately 2.9 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity. Descriptions of event
selection, efficiency measurements, and background estimations are given.

Convener: Andrew Kubik (Department of Physics and Astronomy-Northwesten University-Unkno)

slides 20101028_WZInclusive_USLUO.pdf

12:35 → 13:35 Lunch break with optional ROC tour

Lunch, and the option to tour the LPC Remote Operations Center.

13:35 → 14:00 Student Talk - ATLAS (Kashif, Harvard)

Measurement of W->munu and Z->mumu cross-sections with ATLAS
Abstract:
I will present the first inclusive cross-section measurements of the W->munu and Z->mumu processes by the ATLAS experiment. The
results are based on approximately 300 nb-1 of data and contain 1181 W and 109 Z candidates. I will discuss the extraction of various
efficiencies and correction factors and the methods used for background estimation. The measured values of the cross-sections are
consistent with Standard Model predictions.

Convener: Lashkar Kashif (Harvard University)

slides Kashif_WZxsec_USLUO.pdf

14:00 → 14:25 Student Talk - LHCb (Xing, Syracuse)

Abstract:
We are performing R&D for pixels for the LHCb Vertex Locator Upgrade. Initial investigations have focused on a derivative of the Medipix/Timepix family of chips for the front-end electronics. During the summer of 2009, a test beam run was done to demonstrate the suitability of Timepix, when bump bonded to a silicon pixel sensor. I will present preliminary analysis results including cluster characteristics, charge measurement (Landau distribution), resolution performance, bias voltage dependence, and reconstructed pulse shape. A tracking resolution of about 5 microns has been achieved for angled tracks indicating a very satisfactory resolution performance.

Convener: Zhou Xing (Syracuse University)

slides USLUO_talk_Zhou_v3r2.pdf

14:25 → 14:55 First Results from ALICE

Abstract: The ALICE detector is a general purpose detector optimized for measuring the properties of strongly interacting matter created in high energy heavy ion collisions at the LHC. The characteristic features of the ALICE detector are its low momentum cut off (100 MeV/c), its low material budget, and its excellent particle identification and vertexing capabilities. These features make ALICE well-suited for measurements over a wide kinematic range in proton-proton collisions, which serve both as a baseline for measurements in heavy ion collisions and as interesting measurements in their own right. The first results from ALICE's proton-proton program will be presented, including charged particle multiplicities, identified particle spectra, and anti-proton/proton ratios. These measurements are compared to Monte Carlo generators. Prospects for the upcoming heavy ion run will be discussed.

slides NattrassUSLUO2010.v1.3.pdf

14:55 → 15:25 LHCb Physics

Abstract: I will describe the LHCb experiment and our physics goals, showing first physics results and the initial detector performance. Plans for the detector Upgrade will also be discussed.

slides USLUO-LHCb2.pdf

15:25 → 16:00 Afternoon Break - Wine and Cheese

Joint Session with Fermilab Wine & Cheese

16:00 → 16:45 Update from the Office of Science: W.F. Brinkman, Dept of Energy

For streaming video, go to
http://vms-db-srv.fnal.gov/fmi/xsl/VMS_Site_2/000Return/video/r_livelogicindex.xsl?&-recid=550&-find=

16:45 → 17:30 ATLAS with Six Months of LHC Collisions

Abstract: With just a small fraction of the expected 1/fb of integrated luminosity from LHC's first run delivered, the ATLAS experiment is already
harvesting physics that surpasses the reach of previous experiments. I will overview select recent ATLAS results and discuss the potential
of 1/fb of 7 TeV proton-proton data.

slides USLHC-ATLAS.pdf

17:30 → 18:15 CMS Physics Overview

Abstract:
One year ago, the early LHC physics program was expected to include (a) commissioning and a rapid rise in luminosity, (b) rediscovery of the Standard Model, (c) Higgs, SUSY, and exotics searches with the most sensitivity at high-q^2, and (d) the unexpected. I will present results from CMS demonstrating how each of these expectations have been met or exceeded.

Convener: Jim Pivarski (Texas A&M University)

slides US_LUO_pivarski.pdf

18:15 → 21:00 Break for 7pm Dinner at Courtyard Banquets

Saturday, 30 October

08:30 → 09:00 Late registration, Fee Payment

09:00 → 09:10 Introduction

Convener: Harvey Newman (California Institute of Technology (CALTECH))

09:10 → 09:40 DOE Office of HEP Report

slides LHC_Users_2010_upload.pdf LHC_Users_2010_upload.ppt

09:40 → 10:10 NSF Elementary Particle Physics Report

slides LUO_NSF_SUPPORT_OF_LHC_OPERATIONS_v10.pdf LUO_NSF_SUPPORT_OF_LHC_OPERATIONS_v10.pptx

10:10 → 10:55 Summary/Discussion of Trips to Washington

Convener: Sarah Marie Demers (Yale)

slides

• USLUODCTripSlides_hbn102810.pdf
• USLUODCTripSlides_hbn102810.pptx
• USLUO_Oct2010_Demers.pdf
• USLUO_Oct2010_Demers.pdf
• USLUO_Oct2010_Demers.pptx

10:55 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 11:45 DOE Office of Nuclear Physics Report

Convener: Eugene Henry

slides US_LUO_Presentation_103010_NP.pdf US_LUO_Presentation_103010_NP.pptx

11:45 → 12:10 ACCU Report

Convener: Darin Acosta (University of Florida)

slides ACCU-USLUO-Oct10.pdf ACCU-USLUO-Oct10.ppt

12:10 → 12:25 LUEC Election Committee Report

slides 101030_usluo_election.pdf

12:25 → 13:00 Lunch

13:00 → 13:45 Guest Lecture by Chris Quigg (Fermilab): Mapping the New Worlds

Chris Quigg

slides USLUOMapping.key USLUOMapping.pdf

13:45 → 14:00 Coffee break with dessert

14:00 → 14:45 Young Physicists' Posters

14:45 → 17:15 Student Talks - CMS, ATLAS: Caputo (Stony Brook), Ferencek (Maryland), Nguyen (Brown), Hsu (Yale), Pravahan (UT Arlington), Svintradze (Kansas State)

14:45 Search for First Generation Leptoquarks in ATLAS

Abstract: Leptoquarks are hypothetical particles that carry both lepton and baryon number and are proposed to exist in a number of extensions to the standard model. This work presents a search for first generation Leptoquarks at the ATLAS detector. The search is for pair production of leptoquarks in which one would decay into a lepton/quark pair, and the other into a neutrino/quark pair yielding one high energy lepton, missing transverse energy and two high energy jets. The background, which is estimated by comparing Standard Model Monte Carlo with data, comes primarily from W production with jets and top production.

Speaker: Regina Caputo (SUNY Stony Brook)

Slides Caputo-USLUOMeeting.pdf

15:05 Search for First-Generation Leptoquarks in CMS

Abstract We present the results of a search for pair production of first-generation scalar leptoquarks (LQ) in the final state arising from LQLQ -> eqeq using 1.1 pb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The number of observed events is in good agreement with the predictions for standard model background processes, and we consequently set an upper limit on the LQ cross section times beta^2 as a function of the LQ mass, where beta is the branching fraction of LQ -> eq. We set a 95% C.L. lower limit on the mass of a first-generation scalar LQ at 220 GeV/c^2 for beta = 1.

Speaker: Dinko Ferencek (University of Maryland)

Slides LQ_eejj_USLUO_2010_final_v2.pdf

15:25 Extra Dimensions Searches in the Diphoton Final State at CMS

Abstract We present the commissioning of photon reconstruction and identification using 7 TeV collision data at CMS. The photon observables are measured and compared to Monte Carlo simulation. Two analyses searching for extra dimensions in the diphoton final state, large extra dimensions and wrapped extra dimensions searches, are also discussed.

Speaker: Duong Nguyen (Brown University)

Slides photon_duong_uslou_2.pdf photon_duong_uslou_2.ppt

15:45 From W/Z to Higgs: ATLAS Higgs Sensitivity Prospects for 2010/2011

Abstract: In this talk we show the projections for the Higgs boson search with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, assuming an integrated luminosity of 1 fb-1 which is expected to be reached by the end of 2011. Particular emphasis is given to ongoing studies of the Standard Model W and Z boson production, in view of understanding some of the most important background processes in search for the Higgs boson.

Speaker: Pai-hsien Jennifer Hsu (Yale University)

Slides ATLAS_Higgs_1fb_hsu.pdf

16:05 Supersymmetry Searches in ATLAS

Abstract: We describe the potential for discovering Supersymmetry (SUSY) using the ATLAS detector in the multi-jet and multi-lepton channels with associated missing transverse energy. A study of ATLAS sensitivity based on LHC data for typical signatures of R-Parity conserved SUSY models is presented. The possibilities of using kinematic variables in place of reconstructed missing transverse energy for such searches is investigated. These new variables are useful for reducing standard model backgrounds, especially for the zero lepton case. We describe a new method for estimating the contribution towards irreducible background for SUSY events arising from Z boson production with associated jets.

Speaker: Rishiraj Pravahan (University of Texas at Arlington)

Slides SusySearchesinATLAS_USLUO_Rishiraj.pdf

16:25 Setting Limits on New Phenomena in Z+Gamma Final States at CMS

Abstract We present a study of setting limits on anomalous trilinear gauge couplings in Z + gamma events containing a vector boson and a photon.

Speaker: Irakli Svintradze (Kansas State University)

Slides USLUO_Oct_29_2010_Svintradze.pdf

17:15 → 18:00 Any Other Business

18:00 → 18:15 Adjourn (self-organized dinner or departure)