Laboratories involved:

-  Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille (CPPM) - UMR 7346
   163 avenue de Luminy, Case 902
   13288 Marseille cedex 09
    http://marwww.in2p3.fr/

- Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C) - UMR 5221
   http://www.coulomb.univ-montp2.fr/

- Laboratoire Univers & Particules de Montpellier (LUPM) - UMR 5299
   http://web.lupm.univ-montp2.fr/

   Université Montpellier II, Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cedex 5

Duration of the postdoc contract (years): 2

Lab where the postdoc will be administratively located: CPPM

Collaborators:
Cristinel Diaconu (CPPM), diaconu@cppm.in2p3.fr
Lorenzo Feligioni (CPPM), Feligioni@cppm.in2p3.fr
Gilbert Moultaka (L2C), gilbert.moultaka@univ-montp2.fr

OCEVU Working Group: Particle Physics

Project title: Probing the nature of Electroweak Symmetry Breaking at the LHC with the ATLAS detector

Description of the project

The OCEVU (“Origins, Constituents and Evolution of the Universe”) Labex, a research federation of French labs in Marseille, Montpellier and Toulouse, invites applications for a post-doctoral position based at CPPM Marseille to join its research program “Probing the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking at the LHC with the ATLAS detector”.

The discovery of a new neutral boson at a mass of approximately 125 GeV constrains at different levels theoretical models that provide a mechanism for spontaneous electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB). In several EWSB scenarios beyond the Standard Model, based on supersymmetry (SUSY) or on composite Higgs models, the third quark generation, and in particular the quantum effects due to the top quark, plays an important role in generating the EWSB potential. This class of models could be constrained by studying Higgs boson (associated) production in the top-bottom sector, with subsequent decays to heavy flavors or leptons. Large jet and b-jet multiplicities are also striking signatures for the lightest scalar partner of the top quark, in both R-parity conserving and R-parity Violating (RpV) SUSY processes, where the stop pair production has a sizable cross section.

The candidate should have a strong background in hadron collider data analysis, in order to perform data analysis, within the CPPM ATLAS group [1]. The candidate should also have a good understanding of particle physics phenomenology and will, in close collaboration with the IFAC-UM2 [2] group in Montpellier, investigate the relevance of BSM models in Run 2 ATLAS analyses. The task will include integrating the on going work on RpV sensitivity studies on multi-jet final states using MC tools (such as Madgraph, Spheno and Sarah), starting a data analysis for such processes and finally using these same phenomenological tools looking at other final states of interest such as multi-boson production.

The position is for a fixed term of two years, starting in June 2015 at the earliest, and is based in Marseille. The grant covers expenses for necessary trips to CERN and Montpellier. Candidates for the position should hold a Ph.D. in Experimental Particle Physics or equivalent. Informal enquiries should be addressed to Lorenzo Feligioni (CPPM, +33 4 91 82 76 21, lorenzo@cppm.in2p3.fr) and Gilbert Moultaka (L2C, + 33 4 67 14 35 53, gilbert.moultaka@univ-montp2.fr).

[1] The ATLAS (http://atlas.cppm.in2p3.fr) group at CPPM (http://marwww.in2p3.fr) consists of about forty-five staff physicists, postdoc, graduate students and engineers. The group is active in ATLAS since the beginning and played a major role in the design and construction of the pixel detector, the electromagnetic endcap calorimeters and the trigger system, and pursues an R&D effort for the pixel upgrades. Building on the group expertise with the identification of several physics objects (b-jets, electrons, missing energy), past activities focused on the analysis of the data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider in Run 1: Standard Model top quark measurements, Higgs boson studies and searches for new physics in final states with electrons plus missing energy and heavy flavoured quarks. The group focus is nowadays on its Run 2 physics program, which includes mainly ttH, multi-boson production and SUSY analyses.

[2] The IFAC theory group (http://www.coulomb.univ-montp2.fr/-Equipe-Interactions-fondamentales-?lang=en) is transverse to the two laboratories, L2C (http://www.coulomb.univ-montp2.fr) and LUPM (http://web.lupm.univ-montp2.fr). It comprises nine staff members and six non-permanent members, active in various subjects of low and high-energy theoretical particle physics, astro-particle physics and dark matter, cosmology and the early universe.

To apply

More information as well as instructions for application can be found at the website:  https://www.labex-ocevu.univ-amu.fr/?q=en/node/139