SRCH Milestones

Fermilab: 14-18 July 2008

Work as a team to meet these milestones. The Level-3 project managers will visit your group to participate in brief Milestone Seminars after you've reached milestones B and C. There will be an all-hands conference discussing milestone D.

A. Building Blocks
At the formation of the team, each member can:

1. Add and subtract vectors in 2- and 3-dimensions.
2. Use MS Excel to analyze data and make meaningful graphs, including histograms.
3. Make use of relativistic units which are common in particle physics.

B. Foundations for Data Analysis
Completing this milestone gains the team access to the test beam data. Each team member can:

1. Determine the total energy of a particle when using a sampling detector.
2. Explain the functions of each of the four detector components: tracking, electromagnetic calorimetry, hadronic calorimetry, muon catcher.
3. Describe the effect of a magnetic field on the trajectory of a charged particle and how this may be used to determine the momentum of the particle.
4. Describe the distinction between the momentum and energy of an observed particle.
5. Calculate the mass of a particle given its energy and momentum.
6. Describe the purpose of using test beams, including parameterizing detector response to known input.
7. Participate in a milestone seminar.

C. Test Beam Analysis
Completing this milestone gains the team access to the run data. Each team member can:

1. Recognize that each event in the run data is described by two lines of data.
2. Determine the sampling fractions for the ECal and HCal subdetectors.
3. Calculate total momentum (3-space) of particles in the collider run.
4. Explain the process of collision, production, decay, observation that occurs in colliding detectors.
5. Participate in a milestone seminar.

D. Run Data Analysis
Completing this milestone finishes the project:

1. Study the run data (data from the colliding beam) to identify and study particles and decay modes.
2. Draw mass plots and identify any particles resolved in the data.
3. Find branching ratios (percentages of different decay modes).
4. Define and investigate any other milestones or questions you find necessary.
5. Present your findings at the Friday all-hands conference.