Particle Physics at University of Sheffield at Main

This course covers the complex theories and experimental techniques that particle physicists use to explain the nature of the universe. It will develop each student's understanding of the Standard Model by going into even greater depth on topics they might have covered in their undergraduate degree, such as quantum mechanics, electrodynamics and dark matter.

Students learn about the methods particle physicists use to study the universe, the experiments that led to the discoveries of neutrons, positrons and neutrinos, and the experimental evidence for quarks and gluons. Students can examine the possible explanations for dark matter with scientists who are leading searches for it, and take modules led by researchers who were involved in the Higgs boson and gravitational wave discoveries.

The biggest part of the degree is the research project, which students might be able to work on at a research facility such as CERN. Possible topics include:

• background events in the LUX-Zeplin dark matter experiment
• characterising ultra-fast imaging photon sensors for neutrino experiments
• design a masterclass for high-school students using ATLAS open data
• searching for supersymmetry with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider
• the WATCHMAN Project: Using anti-neutrinos for nuclear threat reduction
• using tau leptons in collider experiments to search for new physics

Students will also complete a research training program, and there are optional modules to choose from including general relativity, particle astrophysics, semiconductor physics and statistical physics.