Brief overview of Turkish par cipa on in CERN experiments
Mehmet Zeyrek METU
KTO Karatay University Konya, 29 Nov. 2013
1 History
• Mainly theore cal HEP studies dominates a er the first groups formed by E. İnönü, F. Gürsey, A. O. Barut and others… Main theore cal centers has been in Ankara Univ, Bogazici Univ, METU • Experimental HEP studies and CERN collabora ons started at METU a er the second half of 1960s (ini ated by Prof. Tolun)
2 Prof. Perihan Tolun 1934-2013
3 ! Perihan Tolun 1934–2013 Perihan Tolun, the first experimental particle physicist of Turkey and Middle East Technical University (METU), passed away on 27 May in Istanbul at the age of 79.
Perihan Tolun graduated in the top rank from the science branch of Arnavutköy American College for Girls, a renowned high school in Istanbul, in 1955. She then came first among the physics applicants for a Rockefeller scholarship to study abroad for an advanced degree. She used the scholarship to go to Bristol University, where she earned her BSc in 1961 and a PhD in 1966 . While in Bristol, she worked in Cecil Powell’s group, participating in experiments at the Proton Synchrotron, which is how her association with CERN began.
Following invitations from the eminent Turkish physicists Erdal İnönü and Feza Gürsey, Tolun joined the Physics Department at METU, Ankara, in 1966. She spent the rest of her career there until her retirement in 2001, with periods as a research associate at Yale University (1970–1971) and CERN (1976–1977). She remained an active researcher at METU until the beginning of 2013, just before her illness was diagnosed.
At METU, Tolun started the first group in experimental particle physics and set up a laboratory where manual stereo microscopes were installed for analysis of elementary-particle tracks in plates of photographic emulsion. The lab was then equipped with an automatic microscope system, in which a CCD camera reads out the image for the CHORUS experiment. A new system was later developed for the OPERA experiment in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory.
Tolun’s first experiment at CERN, with Powell’s group for her PhD, involved the measurement of the magnetic moments of the Λ0 and Σ+ hyperons. After she joined METU in 1966, under her leadership the group from Ankara collaborated with CERN, Lausanne, Munich and Rome in the subsequent experiment, making precision measurements of the magnetic moment of the Λ0 hyperon. In 1977, her group joined the WA17 experiment, measuring the lifetime of charmed hadrons produced in neutrino interactions. From 1991 onwards, her participation in the CERN neutrino programme continued with the CHARM II and CHORUS experiments, with significant Turkish contribution, especially in CHORUS. Following her lead, after the CHORUS experiment, METU joined the OPERA collaboration.
Tolun was highly respected: she was compassionate, courteous, thoughtful and candid. She dedicated her life to science and her passing away is a great loss to the particle-physics community in Turkey. She will be remembered by her students and colleagues as a brilliant researcher, inspiring teacher and advisor.
• Mehmet Zeyrek, METU/Ankara. CERN Courier, July 2013
4 CERN experiments par cated by Turkish Groups • 1966-70: A precise measurement of the magne c moment of lambda hyperon (METU) • 1976-80: WA17 Search for new short-lived par cles produced in neutrino interac ons in an emulsion stack coupled to BEBC (METU)
• 1987-91: UA8 (Diffrac on) par cipated by Ph.D. students from METU and CU
• 1980-90: CHARM II Study of neutrino-electron sca ering at the SPS. (BU, METU) Data analysis • 1991-98: CHORUS Search for neutrino oscilla ons. (BU,CU, METU) Detector installa on & opera on, emulsion scanning, data analysis • 1992-2000: SMC Measurement of the spin-dependent structure func ons of the proton and deutron. (BU) Polarized target installa on & opera on, data analysis
BU: Bogazici Univ., İstanbul CU: Cukurova University, Adana METU: Middle East Technical Univ., Ankara
5 Current projects at CERN
• ATLAS: Ankara Univ, BU, since 1996 Trigger and DAQ, TRT, detector opera ons, physics analysis
• CMS: BU, CU and METU, since 1996 Forward Hadron (HF) calorimeter – design, construc on, commissioning and opera on, physics analysis also ac vi es in CASTOR calorimeter
6 • ALICE: Yildiz Univ. (& İstanbul Univ.) since 2003 Today: KTO Karatay University • LHCb: Celal Bayar Univ. • CAST: Dogus Univ, BU (since 1999) Micromegas opera on and maintanence, data analysis • CLIC (CTF3), LHeC Development of next genera on of accelerators • NA63: Experiments on strong field QED in crystals, İstanbul Univ. , since 2004 Opera ons and data analysis also ac vi es at ISOLDE (radiac ve beam facilty)
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• OPERA: METU since 1998 Detector (emulsion system) installa on, emulsion scanning, data analysis • RD51 : Uludag Univ., since 2009 Design and development of micro pa ern gas detectors
Compu ng : Turkey operates Tier2 centres in the context of WLCG (ULAKBIM)
8 Other projects
• 2004-on TEXONO- Reactor neutrino experiment, Taiwan (METU) • 2011-on AMS (METU) • 2012-on Belle2/Belle (KEK) (METU)
9 10 Manpower
• +20 ins tu ons involved • +30 Ph.D. • 60-70 grad students • +50 Ph.D. and grad students abroad
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