HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS
EXPERIMENT
Modern particle physics is searching for answers to some of the most fundamental questions in physics, including: What is the origin of the mass? Are there new symmetries governing the world of physics? Is there a difference between the matter and the antimatter? Are there more than four dimensions in the physics world? Are there new particles which would explain the "Dark Matter" in the Universe? What are the truly fundamental constituents of the matter? Are there particles smaller than quarks? What are the fundamental properties of neutrinos?
In order to answer these and other questions physicists build increasingly powerful particles accelerators, which collide the beams of particles at high energies. The conditions in these collisions to some extent reproduce in miniature the conditions at the birth of the Universe, or the so called "Big Bang". Not surprisingly Particle Physics as a field is becoming inseparable from Astrophysics. At the University of Florida, particle physics and astrophysics joined forces in the Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics, which is centered in the Physics Department. Research Projects include CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid experiment), GriPhyN, CDF, CLEO and MiniBooNE. More information these projects can be found at the Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics (IHEPA) website.
THEORY
The High Energy Theory (HET) group engages in research spanning a diverse range of research areas. In addition to the seven faculty members, the group consists of a number of postdoctoral researchers, visiting scholars, and graduate students, who all closely interact with each other.