High Energy Physics Group

What is High Energy Physics?


In high energy physics we seek to understand the nature of space and time, the characteristics of the forces governing the interactions of matter and energy, and the origins of the properties of the elementary particles. Modern theories of particle physics purport to explain the origin of mass, and hope to unify the descriptions of all the forces, including gravity. With the discovery that "normal" matter constitutes only 5% of the total energy in the universe, the study of dark matter and dark energy has attracted great interest.


What are we doing in High Energy Physics at Illinois?


Our group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is active on many fronts. Particle phenomenology research aims to address fundamental questions about the laws of nature that can be tested in current and future experiments. Group expertise includes the development of new theories of dark matter and their possible signatures, modeling physics beyond the standard model and its predictions for a variety of low energy and collider experiments, and the connections between particle physics and early-universe cosmology. Our group collaborates extensively with the astrophysics, cosmology, and nuclear physics groups, leading to strong connections with the newly-established Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe (ICASU). We are also involved with the SQMS Center at Fermilab through research to detect new light particles and gravitational waves using quantum sensors.

The lattice gauge theory group studies the formulation of quantum field theories in a nonperturbatively precise way and the simulation of these theories and their phenomena. Our research includes the precision computation of QCD processes needed to decode measurements at collider and other experiments, the exploration of new applications of classical simulations, and the development of theories and observables that can be simulated on digital and analog quantum devices. The latter research includes close collaboration with experimental and theoretical groups in AMO and condensed matter, and the group is a part of the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center (IQUIST).

The theoretical effort also includes research into fundamental aspects of quantum field theory, string theory AdS/CFT, and quantum gravity. The AdS/CFT duality relates questions in quantum gravity to those in strongly interacting quantum many-body physics, and this effort includes strong interdisciplinary links to the condensed matter theory groups and IQUIST.

Our experimental high-energy physics program is focused on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. We are active in searches for beyond-the-standard model physics including supersymmetry, long-lived particles, and anomalous multi-boson production involving new resonances and final states involving Higgs bosons. We also contribute to the ATLAS trigger system through Run 3 operations and upgrades to the Phase 2 trigger system, focusing on the development of novel charged particle tracking algorithms.

Our research benefits from our involvement with interdisciplinary centers such as the Illinois Center for Advanced Study of the Universe. We are developing machine learning approaches for a variety of analysis and reconstruction tasks, leveraging connections with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the Center for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation, and the NSF-funded Accelerated AI Algorithms for Data Driven Discovery (A3D3) Institute.

Get to know what we do

Learn more about our research projects at other laboratories around the globe.

See more of what we do

Nuclear Physics

The Illinois nuclear physics research program is broadly centered around the physics outlined in two major Science sections of the 2015 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science, namely "Quantum Chromodynamics: The Fundamental Description of the Heart of Visible Matter" and "Fundamental Symmetries and Neutrinos." Our QCD interests include nucleon spin and flavor structure to include both the initial state and formatoin of the quark- gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions. We also continue to have a strong program in experiments sensitive to physics beyond the standard model.

We have ongoing major efforts in ATLAS, COMPASS, EXO, neutron EDM, PHENIX, SeaQuest, and sPHENIX.

Physics at Illinois

The Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—ranked among the top ten in the U.S. by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences—is a world leader in physics research and education. We are committed to training new generations of researchers and leaders, to forging new partnerships with government and industry, and to applying the tools of physics to new problems to benefit the State of Illinois, the nation, and the world.

Major experimental and theoretical programs range from fundamental to applied research and are currently externally supported at a level of $29 million annually. In addition to our department's pre-eminence in traditional physics disciplines, such as condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, high energy physics, and astrophysics, we are also increasingly recognized for our strong programs in biological physics, mesoscopic physics, computational physics, and the physics of quantum information. Physics research also encompasses interdisciplinary collaborations with other Illinois science and engineering departments—many also ranked within the top ten U.S. programs.

Engineering at Illinois

As one of the world’s top ranked engineering programs, our students, faculty, and alumni set the standard for excellence. We drive the economy, reimagine engineering education, and bring revolutionary ideas to the world.

We solve the world’s greatest challenges. We look toward the future and find ways to make it a reality. Leading the innovation of virtual reality. Designing electronic tattoos to treat seizures. Building safer global water systems. Converting algae to biofuel. Exploring fusion energy.

My Physics

A portal for current students and faculty to view the Physics directory, reserve a conference room, make a purchase request, and read the latest news.

Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Grant Numbers DE-SC0023365 and DE-SC0015655. This material is also based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers PHY-2120747 and PHY-1931220. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Energy or National Science Foundation.