Understanding the nature of dark matter remains a key open question in physics. By searching for evidence of its production in particle collisions, particle physics detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN are sensitive probes of dark matter and its interactions.

The ATLAS detector at the LHC is sensitive to a wide range of physical phenomena and new physics. Currently finishing the third LHC run, it has collected an unprecedentedly large dataset of over 400 fb-1 of data to analyse.  After Run 3 data-taking ends in 2026, an ambitious set of upgraded sub-detectors will be installed in preparation for the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) phase, including a new tracker and several other components. The increased luminosity and data rates will also require significant upgrades to the Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ) system and will enable ATLAS to record up to 5 times more data each year, greatly increasing the experiment's sensitivity to dark matter and potential new physics.

This jointly supervised ATLAS studentship position will have twin foci: analysing current ATLAS data for evidence of dark matter in challenging final states with experts from both Liverpool and RAL; and working on the new Global Trigger component of the ATLAS detector upgrade for the HL-LHC with the team and facilities at RAL. 

It is critical to cover all possible collider dark matter signatures, including more difficult ones such as those with softer (lower momentum) particles. Noteworthy excesses exist in several of these signatures from existing Run 2 analyses targeting supersymmetry, a well motivated theory explaining beyond Standard Model phenomena. It is crucial to shed light on them, with the new, significantly larger dataset and improved analysis techniques exploiting machine learning approaches. The successful PhD candidate will have the opportunity to investigate this high priority signature and potentially confirm these hints of new phenomena.

Preparation for the HL-LHC phase will also be crucial in the next years. The Global Trigger system, as the main new TDAQ component for the upgraded ATLAS detector, will enable full event information to be exploited by trigger selections, providing complex decisions at very high speed. The successful PhD candidate will make important contributions to this complex system and be able to play a key role in its installation and commissioning at CERN from 2027.​

For more details contact: Dr. James Frost (James.Frost@stfc.ac.uk) and Prof. Monica D'Onofrio (Monica.D'Onofrio@cern.ch)