For the first time in Latvia, a national research programme «High Energy Physics and Accelerator Technologies» has been launched, in cooperation with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), in order to strengthen the development of the Latvian scientific community and to implement interdisciplinary research in natural and engineering sciences in the fields of high-energy physics and accelerator technologies.
The research programme has launched a project titled «Top quark and Higgs Boson research at the CMS experiment, development of crystal scintillators, sub-detectors of the CMS detector and the development of particle accelerator technologies for societal applications, in collaboration with CERN». The main objective of this project is to strengthen the research capacity in the fields of high-energy physics and accelerator technologies in Latvia, as well as to build and solidify the research community in said fields in the country.
During this project, researchers from the Riga Technical University (RTU) Center of High Energy Physics and Accelerator Technologies, in cooperation with researchers from the University of Latvia (UL) and UL Institute of Solid-State Physics, will engage in world-class research activities at the scientific laboratories at CERN, including the on-going high-energy physics research at the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiment and in the technology development projects for detectors and accelerators.
Through this project, early-careers researchers, including Master’s and Doctoral students from UL and RTU, will acquire invaluable experience and know-how by carrying out research activities both here in Latvia and at CERN, Switzerland. They will have the great opportunity to conduct research activities in interdisciplinary fields related to high-energy physics, particle detectors and accelerator technologies, using the most recent research methods and cutting-edge technologies and under the guidance of experienced scientists.
In order to ensure knowledge transfer and to acknowledge the role and contribution of this research to society, information on the project’s activities, outcomes and results will be provided on a regular basis throughout.
The implementation period of this project is two years. It is managed by the RTU Centre of High Energy Physics and Accelerator Technologies and is led by a Senior Researcher at the Centre, Dr. Kārlis Dreimanis. The total budget of the project is 836,460 euros.
