Major Joint Research Initiative, commenced in October 2020

Research in Particle Physics is a global enterprise testing our understanding of the very nature of matter. It requires combined expertise across the areas of experimental particle physics, theoretical particle physics, applied computing and engineering. Forming alliances and acting together is one of the ways that individual research groups can get access to expertise in all of these areas. Warwick Elementary Particle Physics Group has built up a large activity in experimental particle physics; in contrast, the Particle Physics Group at Monash is predominantly a theoretical group. Led by Prof Tim Gershon (Warwick) and Prof Ulrik Egede (Monash), the Monash Warwick Alliance in Particle Physics builds on the complementary strengths and mutual interests of the two groups to establish a world-leading research centre, consolidated through the joint appointment of academic, postdoctoral and PhD posts.

The Monash Warwick Alliance in Particle Physics unlocks the capability to develop new simulation tools for precise experimental measurements, and to improve tools for interpretation of experimental results in the context of underlying theories such as the Standard Model and its extensions. The lead researchers have identified excellent potential for collaboration in several areas within the context of the CERN-based LHCb experiment. These include the search for new phenomena in the decay of heavy hadrons, the design and construction of the upgrade to the LHCb detector and the development of software tools that are necessary to analyse the enormous volume of data collected by the experiment.

The outputs of this collaboration are certain to have a very strong impact in the field of Particle Physics. In addition, the Alliance will research at the cutting edge of data science and machine learning, which may have wider impacts on society. Students and early career researchers at both universities are set to benefit from access to complementary expertise of the researchers and shared infrastructure assets and data sets.

Principle Applicants:

Professor Ulrik Egede School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash Data Futures Institute Monash University	Professor Tim Gershon Department of Physics University of Warwick

Co-Applicants:

Professor C Balazs Professor P Skands Professor G Valencia Monash University

Dr Michal Kreps Dr Tom Blake Dr Mika Vesterinen Dr Matthew Kenzie University of Warwick

Postdoctoral Researchers:

Dr T Hadavizadeh Monash University

Dr John Back Dr Thomas Latham Dr Miguel Ramos Pernas Dr Fernando Abudinén University of Warwick

Joint PhD Students:

Riley Handerson Monash University

Alex Ward University of Warwick