Students of 56 secondary schools discover the LHC research at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics

03/03/2017

A total of 160 students of A levels from 56 secondary schools collaborate this week in the two conferences of the masterclass in particle physics ‘Hands on Particle Physics’, an initiative that is held in 52 countries whose aim is introducing the students and teachers in the research carried out in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of CERN. Institute of Corpuscular Physics and the Faculty of Physics of the University of València organise this year the traditional masterclass in particle physics ‘Hands on Particle Physics’, created to introduce students of A levels in the knowledge of the Large Hadron Collider of CERN.

This is an international initiative promoted by the Dresden University of Technology (Germany) and QuarkNet in collaboration with IPPOG, an international network for the dissemination of particle physics in which Spain participates.

The conferences, organised by Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC, CSIC-UV) together with the Faculty of Physics of the University of València, are given with the help of the IFIC research personnel that participate in its experiments. To enable the participation of more students and schools, the number of available places for both conferences, on 7 and 9 March, are doubled this year.

The Institute of Corpuscular Physics, Centre of Excelence Severo Ochoa with a significant participation in LHC and its experiments, has taken part in this activity from its beginning, in 2004. There are two conferences, one planned for the 7 March using data of the ATLAS experiment, where Higgs boson was discovered in 2012; and the other one on 9 March with data of LHCb, experiment dedicated to study the differences between matter and antimatter.

In both cases, groups of 80 students of first or second year of A levels from Alicante, Castellón and Valencia go to IFIC and the Faculty of Physics to get to know first-hand the particle physics, discipline that studies the components of the matter, and its principal experiments, particle accelerator, by the IFIC research personnel. Then, they carry out a practical exercise whose results are shared with the students that carry out the same activity in other international research centres.

The conference of 7 March consists of proving that the proton, one of the constituents of the atom nucleus, has an intern structure formed by quarks, the ‘bricks’ of matter. Furthermore, hidden in the ATLAS data, students can find some of the Higgs bosons that are produced rarely in the experiment. Students will share their results with students from Mainz and Erlangen (Germany), Genova (Italy) and Lund (Sweden).

The activity of the 9 March suggests students to measure the time that the meson D0 lasts to disintegrate, one of the particles produced in the LHCb experiment.  Studying its disintegration it is expected to obtain clues about why our Universe is made of matter and antimatter.  The results are pooled with students of Cincinnati (USA), Marseilles (France), Genova and Milan (Italy).

To allow that more students and schools collaborate in this demanding activity, the number of participants this year has been doubled because the activity has been held in the Salón de Grados of the Faculty of Physics and the Auditorio Marie Curie of the Scientific Park of the UV. Apart from increasing the capacity of informatics classroom and the personnel dedicated to the masterclass (24 people). IFIC makes a significant effort to disseminate the particle physics in the educational area through the participation in teacher-training courses or in the scientific fairs Exponencia y Experimenta.

According to Santiago González de la Hoz, professor of the UV, IFIC researcher and coordinator of the activity with ATLAS data, “the masterclass of particle physics is an international informative activity which suggests stimulating the scientific vocations among students of A levels”.

For Fernando Martínez Vidal, professor of the UV in the IFIC and coordinator of the activity of LHCb, “the masterclass is a unique opportunity for the students of A levels of having a direct contact with innovative particle physics and scientifics involved in the research, all of these in an international and relaxed environment.  

The masterclass in particle physics ‘‘Hands on Particle Physics’ is promoted by the Dresden University of Technology (Germany) and QuarkNet in collaboration with IPPOG, an international network for the dissemination of particle physics in which Spain participates. This edition takes place from 1 March to 11 April, and participates more than 200 universities and research centres in 52 countries, reaching more than 13,000 students. As an innovation, new institutions join this activity such as Bangladesh, Georgia, Montenegro, Russia and Rwanda. Furthermore, it has been organised this year some conferences about the International Day of Women and Girls in Science that will take place last 11 February.

More information:

http://ific.uv.es/masterclass/index.php