Experimental particle physics and accelerator physics

The Particle Physics Group is highly regarded internationally and plays a leading role in precision tests of the Standard Model and in searches for new particles and phenomena.

The group includes world leaders in the following areas: the physics of the tau lepton and B mesons, searches for supersymmetric particles, theoretical explorations of new physics signatures in low energy processes, and calibrations for measurements of dark energy. The group is engaged in studying the breakdown of matter-antimatter symmetry at the Belle II experiment in Japan, in exploring the high-energy frontier with the ATLAS experiment at CERN, and in studying fundamental neutrino physics in long-baseline neutrino experiments (T2K and HyperK) in Japan. The development and fabrication of detectors for these international projects takes place locally at UVic and at the TRIUMF laboratory. The group is also involved in exploiting advanced computing for particle physics applications. Additionally, the group leads the collaboration providing the fundamental calibration for measurements of dark energy.

UVic is one of 11 universities that operate the TRIUMF laboratory in Vancouver.  TRIUMF has supplied accelerator components to CERN for the Large Hadron Collider and is where parts of the BaBar, ATLAS and T2K detectors were built. TRIUMF houses a large cyclotron and a new electron linear accelerator, ARIEL, that are used for experiments in low-and intermediate-energy subatomic physics and for aspects of materials science and life sciences. UVic has been a key participant in the ARIEL project.  

For more information about the research program and the people involved, see the Victoria Subatomic Physics and Accelerator Research Centre (VISPA).