Department of High Energy Physics - Overview

The activities of the Department can be grouped into four parts: I. An ongoing analysis of the data from large accelerator facilities: 1. At CERN: - Delphi experiment on e+e- collisions. - NA48/1 experiment on weak decays of strange particles. - NA49 and WA98 experiments on relativistic ion collisions. - The COMPASS experiment continues the analysis of data from previous runs on muon-proton and muon-deuteron collisions, studying the spin structure of the proton, and in particular the gluon polarization. Preparations are under way for new data in 2007. 2. At HERA, Hamburg: An analysis of proton structure functions and diffractive interactions from the Zeus experiment continues. Preparations for participation in the planning for a future collider are under way. 3. At Celsius (data taking finished) and COSY (start of data taking) WASA experiment studies near threshold resonance production. II. Within the newly formed Laboratory for Astrophysical Apparatus, an extension and development program of the '' Pi of the Sky '' experiment is under way. This experiment searches for optical signals associated with Gamma Ray Bursts. III. The neutrino program has now entered a new stage. Data analysis from SuperKamiokande and K2K experiments continues, and so does participation in the ICARUS program at CERN. A major program of participation in the T2K experiment, using the neutrino beam from a future Tokai high intensity proton accelerator, has been undertaken. IV. Preparations for the soon-to-start operation of the Large Hadron Collider Three teams work on the planned participation in the LHC experiments: - CMS; - LHCb; - ALICE. In particular, a major experimental effort is being put into the commissioning of the CMS muon trigger, after the successful cosmic ray test run. A collaboration with the Division of Particles and Elementary Interactions from the Institute of Experimental Physics of Warsaw University is maintained. This also involves supervising students preparing seminars and diplomas. A group of 15 PhD students work under the supervision of physicists from our Department, within the Institute for Nuclear Studies Graduate School. (author)