Master thesis projects are offered at the Institute of High Energy Physics (HEPHY) on feasibility studies for far-forward experiments during the High-Luminosity LHC. The forward region, close to the direction of the colliding protons, is outside the acceptance of existing experiments and shielded by concrete and rock. The new experiments will be in an ideal location to search for beyond Standard Model physics (e.g. long-lived particles and dark matter candidates), and very weakly interacting particles such as neutrinos with relatively small and fast to construct dedicated detectors.

We are looking for candidates with a science degree with interest to make an impact on the design of a particle physics detector. Experience in Python, C/C++, Machine Learning, and particle physics is a plus (but not required).

Further reading: arXiv:2203.05090, https://snd-lhc.web.cern.ch/, https://faser.web.cern.ch/
Contact: Dr. Alberto Escalante del Valle (a.escalante.del.valle(at)cern.ch)

Open projects (2022):

Feasibility studies for a new neutrino vertex detector at the HL-LHC
The goal of this project is to investigate the feasibility for different vertex detector options aiming at measuring interactions of high energy neutrinos produced at the HL-LHC for the second generation of the SND@LHC experiment.

Searches for long-lived particles in the forward direction of the HL-LHC
The goal of this project is to study the discovery potential and expected backgrounds for different long-lived particle detector configurations in the forward region of the LHC.