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Physics is the natural science of matter, involving the study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, with its main goal being to understand how the universe behaves. A scientist who specializes in the field of physics is called a physicist. Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines and, through its inclusion of astronomy, perhaps the oldest. Over much of the past two millennia, physics, chemistry, biology, and certain branches of mathematics were a part of natural philosophy, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century these natural sciences emerged as unique research endeavors in their own right. Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental

Monte Carlo simulations of ultra high vacuum and synchrotron radiation for particle accelerators

Márton Ady

With preparation of Hi-Lumi LHC fully underway, and the FCC machines under study, accelerators will reach unprecedented energies and along with it very large amount of synchrotron radiation (SR). This will desorb photoelectrons and molecules from accelerator walls, which contribute to electron cloud buildup and increase the residual pressure - both effects reducing the beam lifetime. In current accelerators these two effects are among the principal limiting factors, therefore precise calculation of synchrotron radiation and pressure properties are very important, desirably in the early design phase. This PhD project shows the modernization and a major upgrade of two codes, Molflow and Synrad, originally written by R. Kersevan in the 1990s, which are based on the test-particle Monte Carlo method and allow ultra-high vacuum and synchrotron radiation calculations. The new versions contain new physics, and are built as an all-in-one package - available to the public. Existing vacuum calculation methods are overviewed, then the steady-state and time-dependent algorithms behind the ultra-high vacuum simulator Molflow are presented. Some practices to tackle the most common problems that arise when simulating large systems are also discussed. Results are compared to theory, and validated through two experiments. Next the the main steps of synchrotron radiation simulations are presented. Properties of SR are summarized, along with optimizations that allow simulating the rather complex underlying physics at a higher speed. The resulting software's photon generation algorithm is benchmarked against published data. The phenomenon of photon stimulated desorption and its literature is overviewed, then two dedicated photodesorption experiments carried out in KEK (Tsukuba, Japan) are presented: one with six room-temperature samples and an other at liquid nitrogen temperature. A simple synchrotron radiation calculation is performed for the LHeC interaction region, allowing to compare Synrad+ results with published analytic calculations. Then the calculations are repeated for a more precise geometry description. The pressure profile of a crotch absorber of the recently started Max IV light source is calculated using Molflow+ and Synrad+ together. Finally the pressure analysis of the SuperKEKB interaction region is presented, consisting of modeling the vacuum chamber and the optics, calculating synchrotron radiation, then performing vacuum simulations. It is confirmed that pressure is expected to meet the design requirements during operation of the machine.

EPFL2016

Measurement of lifetimes for heavy flavour mesons using semileptonic B decays at LHCb

Brice Emile Maurin

This thesis work presents lifetime measurements of heavy-flavour mesons made with semileptonic

B^0

and

B^0_s

decays based on

3~{\rm fb}^{-1}

of data collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The study of meson lifetimes is important to constrain phenomenological models for hadronic interactions based on the Standard Model of particle physics. Better understanding of hadronic interactions is essential for making precise predictions, which can then be confronted to experimental data in order to look for signs of physics beyond the Standard Model. We measure the differences between the decay widths of the

B^0_s

and

B^0

mesons,

\Delta(B)

, and between that of the

D_s^-

and

D^-

mesons,

\Delta(D)

, by analysing approximately 410000

B^0_s \to D_{s}^{(*)-}\mu^{+}\nu_{\mu}

and 110000

B^0 \to D^{(*)-}\mu^{+}\nu_{\mu}

decays, which are partially reconstructed in the same

K^+K^-\pi^-\mu^+

final state. We measure

\Delta(B) = -0.0115 \pm 0.0053~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0041~{\rm(syst)}~{\rm ps}^{-1}

and

\Delta(D) = 1.0131 \pm 0.0117~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0065~{\rm(syst)}~{\rm ps}^{-1}.

Using the obtained values of

\Delta(D)

and

\Delta(B)

and the

B^0

and

D^-

lifetimes as external inputs, we obtain a measurement of the flavour-specific

B^0_s

lifetime,

\tau_s^{\rm fs} = 1.547 \pm 0.013~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.010~{\rm (syst)} \pm 0.004~{\rm(\tau_{B^0})}~{\rm ps},

and of the

D_s^-

lifetime,

\tau_{D_s^-} = 0.5064 \pm 0.0030~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0017~{\rm (syst)} \pm 0.0017~{\rm(\tau_{D^-})}~{\rm ps},

where the last uncertainties originate from the limited knowledge of the

B^0

and

D^-

lifetimes, respectively. Both results are compatible with, and improve upon, previous determinations. A feasibility study of a

D^0

lifetime measurement is performed, by measuring the difference between the decay widths of the

D^0

and

D^-

mesons,

\Delta(D)'

. We reconstruct approximately

2.2\times 10^6

B^0\to D^{*-}(\to \bar{D}^0 (\to K^+\pi^-)\pi^-)\mu^+\nu_{\mu}

and

1.6\times 10^6

B^0\to D^{(*)-}(\to K^+\pi^-\pi^- (X))\mu^+\nu_{\mu}

decays. We measure

\Delta(D)' = 1.4644 \pm 0.0043~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0132~{\rm(syst)}~{\rm ps}^{-1}

and with the

D^-

lifetime as external input, we get an estimate of the

D^0

lifetime,

\tau_{D^0} = 0.4122 \pm 0.0007~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0022~{\rm (syst)} \pm 0.0011~{\rm(\tau_{D^-})}~{\rm ps}.

This result is compatible with, but less precise than, current precision and thus validates the method. We discuss possible improvements with larger simulation samples and data sets.

EPFL2018

Measurement of time-dependent CP violation in B0->Dpi decays and optimisation of flavour tagging algorithms at LHCb

Vincenzo Battista

This thesis presents the results of a time-dependent analysis of

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

decays using

3~\rm fb^{-1}

of proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider during Run 1 with a centre-of-mass energy of

7

(2011) and

8

(2012) TeV. The LHCb experiment is dedicated to the study of the properties of

b

-flavoured hadrons, in particular

CP

violation in the

B

meson system. The Standard Model of Particle Physics describes very precisely the mechanism and the amount of

CP

violation expected in the Universe. However, the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry is larger by several order of magnitude compared to the predictions. This could be explained by the existence of a new source of

CP

violation, originating in New Physics beyond the Standard Model. The time-dependent analysis of

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

decays provides constraints on the angle

\gamma

of the Unitarity Triangle, one of the fundamental parameters of the Standard Model related to

CP

violation. Since no sizeable high-order Standard Model processes are expected to contribute, any deviation from the predictions would be an unambiguous signature of New Physics. The current experimental precision on

\gamma

is significantly lower than that of theoretical predictions. This motivates the effort for new experimental determinations of

\gamma

in order to reduce its uncertainty. The analysis of

\Bz\to\Dmp\pipm

decays, although not as sensitive as that obtained from decays of charged

B

mesons into

D^{(*)0}K^{(*)+}

final states, represents an independent and uncorrelated estimation of

\gamma

that contributes to the global combination of all

\gamma

measurements. The result obtained in this thesis is more precise than previous determinations from other experiments (BaBar, Belle) using

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

decays. Although based on a very large sample of about half a million signal events, it is still dominated by statistical uncertainties, indicating good prospects for future improvements in precision with more data from Run 2 and beyond. In addition to the

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

analysis, this thesis also summarizes the studies to improve the performances of the flavour tagging algorithms used by the LHCb collaboration to infer the flavour of neutral

B

mesons in time-dependent analyses. The performance of these algorithms, being correlated with the kinematics of the reconstructed particles as well as the complexity of the event (number of tracks and primary vertices), showed a significant decrease on Run 2 data (2015--2018), which were collected at a centre-of-mass energy of

13~\rm TeV

. Thanks to new implementations, these algorithms now have a performance similar to that obtained with Run 1 data.

EPFL2018

Measurement of lifetimes for heavy flavour mesons using semileptonic B decays at LHCb

Brice Emile Maurin

This thesis work presents lifetime measurements of heavy-flavour mesons made with semileptonic

B^0

and

B^0_s

decays based on

3~{\rm fb}^{-1}

B^0_s

and

B^0

mesons,

\Delta(B)

, and between that of the

D_s^-

and

D^-

mesons,

\Delta(D)

, by analysing approximately 410000

B^0_s \to D_{s}^{(*)-}\mu^{+}\nu_{\mu}

and 110000

B^0 \to D^{(*)-}\mu^{+}\nu_{\mu}

decays, which are partially reconstructed in the same

K^+K^-\pi^-\mu^+

final state. We measure

\Delta(B) = -0.0115 \pm 0.0053~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0041~{\rm(syst)}~{\rm ps}^{-1}

and

\Delta(D) = 1.0131 \pm 0.0117~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0065~{\rm(syst)}~{\rm ps}^{-1}.

Using the obtained values of

\Delta(D)

and

\Delta(B)

and the

B^0

and

D^-

lifetimes as external inputs, we obtain a measurement of the flavour-specific

B^0_s

lifetime,

\tau_s^{\rm fs} = 1.547 \pm 0.013~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.010~{\rm (syst)} \pm 0.004~{\rm(\tau_{B^0})}~{\rm ps},

and of the

D_s^-

lifetime,

\tau_{D_s^-} = 0.5064 \pm 0.0030~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0017~{\rm (syst)} \pm 0.0017~{\rm(\tau_{D^-})}~{\rm ps},

where the last uncertainties originate from the limited knowledge of the

B^0

and

D^-

lifetimes, respectively. Both results are compatible with, and improve upon, previous determinations. A feasibility study of a

D^0

lifetime measurement is performed, by measuring the difference between the decay widths of the

D^0

and

D^-

mesons,

\Delta(D)'

. We reconstruct approximately

2.2\times 10^6

B^0\to D^{*-}(\to \bar{D}^0 (\to K^+\pi^-)\pi^-)\mu^+\nu_{\mu}

and

1.6\times 10^6

B^0\to D^{(*)-}(\to K^+\pi^-\pi^- (X))\mu^+\nu_{\mu}

decays. We measure

\Delta(D)' = 1.4644 \pm 0.0043~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0132~{\rm(syst)}~{\rm ps}^{-1}

and with the

D^-

lifetime as external input, we get an estimate of the

D^0

lifetime,

\tau_{D^0} = 0.4122 \pm 0.0007~{\rm(stat)} \pm 0.0022~{\rm (syst)} \pm 0.0011~{\rm(\tau_{D^-})}~{\rm ps}.

This result is compatible with, but less precise than, current precision and thus validates the method. We discuss possible improvements with larger simulation samples and data sets.

EPFL2018

Monte Carlo simulations of ultra high vacuum and synchrotron radiation for particle accelerators

Márton Ady

EPFL2016

Measurement of time-dependent CP violation in B0->Dpi decays and optimisation of flavour tagging algorithms at LHCb

Vincenzo Battista

This thesis presents the results of a time-dependent analysis of

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

decays using

3~\rm fb^{-1}

of proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider during Run 1 with a centre-of-mass energy of

7

(2011) and

8

(2012) TeV. The LHCb experiment is dedicated to the study of the properties of

b

-flavoured hadrons, in particular

CP

violation in the

B

meson system. The Standard Model of Particle Physics describes very precisely the mechanism and the amount of

CP

CP

violation, originating in New Physics beyond the Standard Model. The time-dependent analysis of

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

decays provides constraints on the angle

\gamma

of the Unitarity Triangle, one of the fundamental parameters of the Standard Model related to

CP

\gamma

is significantly lower than that of theoretical predictions. This motivates the effort for new experimental determinations of

\gamma

in order to reduce its uncertainty. The analysis of

\Bz\to\Dmp\pipm

decays, although not as sensitive as that obtained from decays of charged

B

mesons into

D^{(*)0}K^{(*)+}

final states, represents an independent and uncorrelated estimation of

\gamma

that contributes to the global combination of all

\gamma

measurements. The result obtained in this thesis is more precise than previous determinations from other experiments (BaBar, Belle) using

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

B^0\to D^{\mp}\pi^{\pm}

analysis, this thesis also summarizes the studies to improve the performances of the flavour tagging algorithms used by the LHCb collaboration to infer the flavour of neutral

B

13~\rm TeV

. Thanks to new implementations, these algorithms now have a performance similar to that obtained with Run 1 data.

EPFL2018