CMS GEM Detector Production in Ghent
August 7, 2023
In the heat of summer 2023, our group emerged as a hot spot for the production of the CMS GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) detector. We proudly unveiled the magnificent GE2/1, the second station of this cutting-edge detector at the Muon subsystem in CMS. They will be later installed on the CMS detector during the upcoming winter break. Countless hours of dedication and commitment have be rewarded in an amazing achievement.
a combined production site for CMS GEM.
A new CMS observation, made in Ghent
May 22, 2023
After months of intense research, CMS and ATLAS finally have announced the observation of one of the rarest and most extreme Standard Model processes ever observed at the LHC: the simultaneous production of four top quarks. Quarks are one of the fundamental building blocks of nature, being the main constituents of protons and neutrons. Currently, we know of six types of quarks, one of which is the top quark. It is the heaviest particle we know of, 100 000 time heavier than the the typically found in protons and neutrons, amounting to a mass almost as large as that of a gold atom. Given that it is so heavy, it is virtually impossible to observe under normal circumstances, but in the highly energetic collisions at the LHC, they are produced in large quantities. Having four of them at the same time is, however, still rare, even at LHC. Yet the extremity of the process makes it especially prone to modification by yet unknown physics ruling the high-energy spectra.
For those reasons, the recent observation is another great success of LHC. In this case, one with a strong Belgian flavour, because the research yielding the CMS discovery has been largely conducted at Ghent university, by the PhD student Niels Van den Bossche and his supervisor Prof. Didar Dobur, supported by the the other members of the Ghent CMS group. Armed with machine learning, physical insight, and, most of all, heroic energy, they made this observation possible in record time, confirming once again the commitment of Belgium, and especially Ghent, to provide world class physics at the forefront of modern science.
Academic visit of Muographer from Japan
November 14, 2022
Miki Ohtsuka, an ambitious physics teacher from Waseda University Honjo Senior High School, visited our laboratory and had an academic exchange. Miki is currently on an academic tour around Europe, targeting universities and institutes with Muography projects. Miki gave a nice overview of her work on the Muography project of the Akiyama-koshinduka historic mound at Honjo, Japan. The project is aimed to study the inner structure of the historic mound and search for the possible cavities inside. Miki is leading a group of about ten high school students in the project, conducting fieldwork and analysing data. This gives the young students an interdisciplinary environment, and stimulates their interests in physics and archaeology.
Van Der Meer Program 2022
November 10, 2022
Ever thought how luminosity is measured at CMS? This done using so-called luminometers which are detectors counting a certain process with known cross-section. These cross-sections are measured once a year during a special LHC setup that allows to measure cross-sections without knowing the luminosity in advance. The main feature of this set-up is that the beams are moved away from their usual head-on collision course during so-called scans. CMS performs several types of scans, which collectively form the Van Der Meer program, honouring the Dutch accelerator physicist who invented the essence of the procedure. It has been successfully applied during run 2, and will see its first run 3 edition from November 10th to 12th 2022. The luminosity team within the Ghent CMS group headed by Postdoc Joscha Knolle proudly participates in this effort. They communicate the program to LHC and keep an eye on the CMS performance by day and night to ensure the best data-taking possible.
Graduation Master Students
October 8, 2022
Our Master’s students of last year succesfully graduated, which was celebrated with an official proclamation ceremony. Two of them got an award acknowledging excellency in their academic performance and Master’s thesis work. Sibe Bleuze, supervised by Prof. Archisman Gosh, was awarded the Armand Pien award, dedicated to the best Master’s thesis in the field of Astronomy. Maarten De Coen, supervised by Prof. Didar Dobur, won the Physics and Astronomy award, which highlights acadamic excellency and/or outstanding commitment to the Physics and Astronomy student community.
More pictures of the ceremony can be found here: https://beeldbank.ugent.be/nl/fotoalbum/proclamatie-2022-faculteit-wetenschappen?page=4.
CERN visit of Minister Jo Brouns
September 6, 2022
Mr Jo Brouns (centre of picture), Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture, accompanied by the rectors of the five Flemish Universities paid a visit to CERN on Tuesday 6 September 2022. In addition to various presentations on CERN, knowledge transfer and innovation, the delegation had the chance to visit CMS experiment, ISOLDE facility and IdeaSquare. At the end of the visit the Minister and his delegation had fruitful discussions with members of the Belgian community at the Globe. Professors Didar Dobur and Filip Moortgat (right to the Minister), together with Postdoc Amrutha Samalan and PhD student Maarten De Coen (left to the Minister) travelled in person to CERN to represent the Ghent EPP group. We clearly voiced our concerns towards the Minister, confirming in this way our group as a stronghold of particle physics within the Belgian community.
For more pictures, see https://cds.cern.ch/record/2826316.
Group outing 2022
June 9, 2022
The first big outing of the group happened at the beginning of Summer 2022. The first big social event after the pandemic!
More pictures of the group outing are to be found here: https://epp.ugent.be/index.php/gallery/group-meeting-2022.
Belgian High-School Students Internship Programme 2021
October 24, 2021
Prof.dr. Dirk Ryckbosch is one of the organizers of the popular series of Belgian High-School Students Internship Programme, the current edition of which is taking place from 24 October to 6 November. It is a truly unique opportunity for 24 high-school students from Belgium to be introduced to CERN. This year the organizers have received more than 500 applications, becoming of the most successful editions of this school!
https://indico.cern.ch/event/891526/
Universiteit van Vlaanderen: Wat is donkere materie?
January 27, 2020
Prof. dr. Dirk Ryckbosch, member of our group, gave a talk at Universiteit van Vlaanderen, an organization which provides free online colleges to the general public, given by prominent Flemish scientists. You can discover the talk here! (dutch-only)
Source: www.universiteitvanvlaanderen.be
Group meeting 2020
January 16, 2020
On January 15 and 16, the Ghent Experimental Particle Physics Group has hold a group meeting and team building activity in Vecmont near La Roche-en-Ardenne. The main goal of the group meeting is to allow PhD students and research staff from our different subgroups to present their scientific work, to people outside their specific experiment. In addition to the scientific program, a team building afternoon was organized, such that new and older members of the group learn to know each other a little bit better.
EPS-HEP 2019 Conference
July 17, 2019
During the past 8 days, the Ghent Experimental Particle Physics Group hosted the European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics (EPS-HEP), in collaboration with the Universiteit Antwerpen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universite Libre de Bruxelles and Universite Catholique de Louvain.
GEM detectors assembled in Ghent soon to be installed in CMS detector
April 7, 2019
As part of the Phase-2 upgrade program, CMS will extend its muon system by adding several new stations equipped with GEM detectors. About 30 of such GEM detectors have been assembled and certified in Ghent and were recently transported to CERN in order to prepare them for final installation inside the CMS detector later this year.
Left to right: Christos Roskas, Patrick Sennesael, Michael Tytgat, Philippe Van Auwegem
Further reading: CMS tightens its net around muons
Ghent group observes rare top quark with Z boson production
December, 6th 2018
Ghent students exploring the South Pole
Three former students from the Ghent University went on to explore the South Pole. Read more about their stories here:
http://www.naardezuidpool.ugent.be/home.html
