Meeting Notes for 14 January 2010 (CMS meeting at ND)

Present: Marge, Liz, TomJ, TomL, Randy, DanK, Phong, Mihael

Due Dates

• In production by 1 June
• Get a beta by 1 April

Understanding

• We learn to make claims based on discovery - evidence
  • How unstable particles can be detected through decays to stable particles and how measuring properties of stable → properties of unstable
    • How to see the ephemeral
    • How particles interact with the detector
• How we gain confidence in measurements
  • Concepts of signal and background
• How discoveries happen over time
• What is fundamental

Learning the process of discovery

1. How particle physics makes and build confidence about discoveries
   1. Because the detector we use for discoveries is "working"
      1. I know that it is working because it confirms known results (previously found)

(subtitle)

• Explain the role conservations rules play in analyzing data
• Provide an answer to the research question and support it with evidence
• Differentiate between signal and background
• Apply appropriate conservation rules to the dimuon events
• Explain the significance of the location and shape of the "bump" and how the histogram fills
• Explain the measurement of properties of less stable particles by the observation of the properties of more stable particles
• Describe which particles were involved in these events
• Draw and annotate a diagram of CMS

• Get an image bank of event displays from Fireworks

Why are dimuon events interesting?

• Z⁰ is neutral - students probably know about charge conservation (hopefully?)
• For new things? Could have different charges
• How to identify the charges? Need transverse energy plots
• For dimuons, need the vector <P_x, P_y, P_z, E> (E = √(P² + m²)), charge (Q), particle ID (e, μ, etc.), event number, timestamp
• 900 GeV data should be available quickly
  • 1M events on tape - but not too many J/ψ events?
  • Might have data by 1 Jun. Might.
• Should we just go forward with Monte Carlo data?

Training component (bootcamp) for new collaborators

• Some of the dimuon events, J/ψ, etc. used for this
• Will use DanK's OGRE.

Data

• Presently OGRE grabs pre-generates plots in the data
• Going to need a CMS data module to do our own plots
  • This is CPU-intensive
  • Cache old results
• Can make a preprocessed file - but makes it a pain in the rear to do something new
  • Could save that preprocessing as some external metadata file (adding to instead removing)
• We will have mass plots
  • Later transverse momentum

Research Questions

• MC or rundata? That'll affect things
• For MC data? Look at the bumps, ask what's going on
• For rundata? Ask "is the detector working" - issues with plots over time for statistical certainty
• Plots & timestamps

Design Requirements

Technical

• Image bank of event displays
• Plot overlays
• Mass plots: μ⁺μ^-, μ^±μ⁰, P_t
• Save plot history+values, mass and standard deviation
• Annually produce collaboration mass and standard deviation
  • Compare against mass, SD on all data
• Make cuts
• Re-run plots (with required provenance, metadata, etc)
• Fast forward time "fill" (animation, 3D chart)
• Separate signal from background
• P_x, P_y, P_z, ...
• Mechanism to choose the grid or local cluster or server
• Teacher approval for the poster
• Revised poster (the specialized pre-filled one for CMS)
• Add or unlock data month-by-month (MC at first, later rundata?)
  • Note the latest data update timestamp

Educational

• Discovery science
• Role of conservation rules
• Standard model particles
• Stable, unstable
• Label diagram of the detector
• Signal, background
• Plot shape, location, meaning of the numbers
• Know how tu support the research question with evidence
• Hypothetical production of Z

Misc Notes

• Dimuon events - how to frame it for student understanding?
• For teachers without much time - very high level investigation. Just invariant mass distribution
  • More time? Maybe do more.

-- Main.PhongNguyen - 14 Jan 2010

* CMS_eLab_First_Concept.rtf: CMS_eLab_First_Concept.rtf