The research focus of the group is on understanding the structure of the most fundamental building blocks of matter. The instruments required to shed more light on the origin of the structure of elementary particles and their masses are huge. Members of the group perform measurements using data collected with the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (CERN). Enormous amounts of data are needed to find out more about this most fundamental question. Among elementary particles the top quark is the most special quark with a mass close to that of a gold atom. Our current understanding is that the Higgs mechanism gives mass to the top quark. The measurements of the group are employing data enriched in top quarks (and also Higgs bosons) to study precisely the interactions between those two fundamental particles and to search for any evidence of contributions beyond the Standard Model.
We are also involved in Research and Development for novel silicon pixel detectors and low mass support structures. This research involves cutting edge materials such as carbon fiber composites, 3D printed materials, carbon foam and light-weight Aluminum alloys for example Aluminum Carbon fiber. The Composite Manufacturing & Simulation Center (CMSC) allows to design and manufacture light-weight support structures and equip them with silicon detector modules assembled at the in-house Purdue Silicon Detector Lab, or PSDL. We carry out material characterization in terms of radiation damage and thermal conductivity, perform thermal simulations and comparisons to data taken with a CO2 cooling setup, and collaborate on these topics with Cornell, Fermilab, CERN, and other institutes in the US, Europe and world-wide.