Electroweak contributions to squark--gluino production at the LHC

We calculated the electroweak contributions to the hadronic production of a squark in association with a gluino within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). Presented are complete next-to-leading order electroweak (NLO EW) corrections at O(alpha_s^2 alpha), which include real photon and real quark radiation processes. Also considered are photon induced tree level O(alpha_s alpha) contributions.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figure

Electroweak Physics at LHC

The prospects for electroweak physics at the LHC are reviewed focusing mainly on precision studies. This includes projections for measurements of the effective Z pole weak mixing angle, of top quark, W boson, and Higgs scalar properties, and new physics searches

Charged particle jet measurements with the ALICE experiment in proton-proton collisions at the LHC

We present preliminary results of measurements of charged particle jet properties in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV using the ALICE detector. Jets are reconstructed using $\rm anti-k_{T}, k_{T}$ and SISCone jet finding algorithms with resolution parameter $R=0.4$ in the range of transverse momentum from 20 to 100 GeV/$c$ in the midrapidity region (\mid\eta\mid\textless 0.5). The uncorrected charged jet spectra obtained using the three different jet finders show good agreement. The data are compared to predictions from PYTHIA-Perugia0, PYTHIA-Perugia2011, and PHOJET. The mean charged particle multiplicity in leading jets increases with increasing jet $p_{\rm T}$ and is consistent with model predictions. The radial distributions of transverse momentum about the jet direction and the distributions of the average radius containing 80% of the total jet $p_{\rm T}$ found in the jet cone ($R = 0.4$ in this analysis), indicate that high $p_{\rm T}$ jets are more collimated than low $p_{\rm T}$ jets.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, Conference Proceedings submitted for the 28th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Puerto Rico, April 7-14, 201

Flavor Changing Effects in Family Nonuniversal Z' Models

Flavor-changing and CP-violating interactions of Z' to fermions are generally present in models with extra U(1) gauge symmetry that are string-inspired or related to broken gauged family symmetry. We study the consequences of such couplings in fermion electric dipole moments, muon g-2, and K and B meson mixings. From experimental limits or measured values, we constrain the off-diagonal Z' couplings to fermions. Some of these constraints are comparable or stronger than the existing constraints obtained from other observables.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Hard Interactions of Quarks and Gluons: a Primer for LHC Physics

In this review article, we develop the perturbative framework for the calculation of hard scattering processes. We undertake to provide both a reasonably rigorous development of the formalism of hard scattering of quarks and gluons as well as an intuitive understanding of the physics behind the scattering. We emphasize the importance of logarithmic corrections as well as power counting of the strong coupling constant in order to understand the behavior of hard scattering processes. We include "rules of thumb" as well as "official recommendations", and where possible seek to dispel some myths. Experiences that have been gained at the Fermilab Tevatron are recounted and, where appropriate, extrapolated to the LHC.Comment: 118 pages, 107 figures; to be published in Reports on Progress in Physic

Sensitivity of LHC experiments to exotic highly ionising particles

The experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are able to discover or set limits on the production of exotic particles with TeV-scale masses possessing values of electric and/or magnetic charge such that they behave as highly ionising particles (HIPs). In this paper the sensitivity of the LHC experiments to HIP production is discussed in detail. It is shown that a number of different detection methods are required to investigate as fully as possible the charge-mass range. These include direct detection as the HIPs pass through either passive or active detectors and, in the case of magnetically charged objects, the so-called induction method with which magnetic monopoles which stop in accelerator and detector material could be observed. The benefit of using complementary approaches to HIP detection is discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 52 figure

Hadronization in Z0 decay

The confinement transition from the quark and gluon degrees of freedom appropriate in perturbation theory to the hadrons observed by real world experiments is poorly understood. In this strongly interacting transition regime we presently rely on models, which to varying degrees reflect possible scenarios for the QCD dynamics. Because of the absence of beam and target remnants, and the clean experimental conditions and high event rates, e+e- annihilation to hadrons at the Z0 provides a unique laboratory, both experimentally and theoretically, for the study of parton hadronization. This review discusses current theoretical understanding of the hadronization of partons, with particular emphasis on models of the non-perturbative phase, as implemented in Monte Carlo simulation programs. Experimental results at LEP and SLC are summarised and considered in the light of the models. Suggestions are given for further measurements which could help to produce more progress in understanding hadronization.Comment: Topical review, to appear in J.Phys.G, 80 page

The CDF Silicon Vertex Trigger

The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) experiment's Silicon Vertex Trigger (SVT) is a system of 150 custom 9U VME boards that reconstructs axial tracks in the CDF silicon strip detector in a 15 μm pipeline. SVT's 35 μm impact parameter resolution enables CDF's Level 2 trigger to distinguish primary and secondary particles, and hence to collect large samples of hadronic bottom and charm decays. We review some of SVT's key design features. Speed is achieved with custom VLSI pattern recognition, linearized track fitting, pipelining, and parallel processing. Testing and reliability are aided by built-in logic state analysis and test-data sourcing at each board's input and output, a common interboard data link, and a universal “Merger” board for data fan-in/fan-out. Speed and adaptability are enhanced by use of modern FPGAs