The University of Rochester team, in collaboration with the CMS Collaboration at CERN, has made significant strides in measuring the electroweak mixing angle, a vital component of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This achievement sheds light on the fundamental forces of the universe, particularly electromagnetism and the weak force, which were discovered to be connected in the 1960s. The electroweak theory posits that these forces are low-energy manifestations of a unified force called the unified electroweak interaction.
The CMS Collaboration, which includes over 4,000 scientists from more than 200 institutions and 50 countries, conducts research at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. The LHC recreates conditions similar to those that existed fractions of a second after the Big Bang, allowing scientists to study the behavior of particles under extreme conditions.
The Rochester team, led by Arie Bodek, the George E. Pake Professor of Physics, includes principal investigators Regina Demina and Aran Garcia-Bellido, along with postdoctoral research associates and students. They have been involved with the CMS Collaboration for decades, contributing significantly to discoveries such as the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson.
The recent measurements of the electroweak mixing angle by the Rochester team are incredibly precise and align closely with predictions from the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The team implemented new techniques to minimize systematic uncertainties, enhancing the precision of the measurement. This advancement deepens our understanding of the fundamental nature of matter and energy.
The CMS Collaboration’s work helps explain the mysteries of the universe, contributing to our understanding of the basic laws that govern the universe. The collaboration’s work at CERN is supported by experiments like those conducted at the Large Hadron Collider, which delve into conditions similar to those after the Big Bang.
