À descoberta da natureza do neutrino: decaimento beta duplo sem neutrinos
O decaimento beta duplo sem neutrinos é um dos tópicos mais interessantes da física de partículas contemporânea. A sua observação provaria a existência de nova física para além do modelo padrão (SM), e mostraria que o neutrino é uma partícula de Majorana -- isto é, é a sua própria anti-partícula. Provaria ainda a existência de processos que violam a conservação do número leptónico, suportando a ideia de que os leptões podem ter contribuído também para a assimetria entre matéria e anti-matéria observada no Universo. Este decaimento está previsto em extensões do SM que também conseguem explicar a massa extremamente pequena dos neutrinos (6 ordens de grandeza menor que a do electrão). A sua taxa de ocorrência pode ser associada à chamada massa efectiva de Majorana, uma combinação das 3 massas de neutrinos que pode ser usada para determinar se estas massas seguem uma hierarquia normal ou inversa (apesar de não permitir determinar os seus valores absolutos). Várias experiências, entre as quais LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), procuram este decaimento extremamente raro. O detector LZ, que começou a funcionar no final de 2021, foi desenvolvido com o objectivo principal de procurar interacções directas de matéria escura com o material de detecção (xénon líquido), mas dada a sua grande sensibilidade pode também ser usado para estudar outros processos físicos como o decaimento beta duplo sem neutrinos. O isótopo Xe-136 é um conhecido emissor beta duplo com emissão de neutrinos, e portanto poderá também decair sem emissão de neutrinos, sendo atualmente o isótopo que permite restringir mais fortemente os valores da massa efectiva Majorana. Neste projecto os alunos irão avaliar a sensibilidade de LZ para observar este decaimento no Xe-136 analisando dados simulados da experiência.

Experiment : DarkMatter
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Alexandre Lindote, Paulo Brás
Email : alex@coimbra.lip.pt
Number of students : 3
Dates : July - September

Detecção Directa de Matéria Escura com a Experiência LUX-ZEPLIN
A experiência LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) tem como objetivo principal responder a um dos maiores enigmas científicos do nosso tempo: o que é a matéria escura. Observações astronómicas como a velocidade radial das galáxias, a radiação cósmica de fundo ou a observação de lentes gravitacionais apontam para que a maior parte da massa do Universo (cerca 85%) seja sob a forma de partículas exóticas, a que se chamou matéria escura por não se conhecer a sua natureza, e cuja probabilidade de interacção com a matéria comum é muito baixa. Com 7 toneladas de xénon líquido como alvo para as partículas de matéria escura, LZ será o maior detector do seu género alguma vez construído. A experiência LUX, precursora de LZ, foi até 2017 a experiência mais sensível à detecção direta de matéria escura. A experiência LZ irá aumentar a sensibilidade num fator de 1,000 tendo a capacidade de detectar pela primeira vez a matéria escura. Nesta atividade, vais explorar dados experimentais da experiência LZ a fim de procurar um possível sinal desta matéria misteriosa.

Experiment : DarkMatter
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Cláudio Silva; Paulo Brás
Email : claudio@coimbra.lip.pt
Number of students : 3
Dates : July-September

Development of control systems for ProtoDUNE calibration instrumentation
The DUNE experiment is a next generation neutrino experiment aiming to address several of the pending questions about this elusive particle. DUNE has a broad physics program spanning several orders of magnitude in energy including, among others, the precise measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameters, the study of atmospheric neutrino oscillations, search for several nucleon decay modes and, it`s flagship aim, the search for CP violation in the leptonic sector. This last goal has far-reaching implications, as it would fulfill one of the conditions necessary to demonstrate that leptons had a contribution in the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. Such a broad physics program requires a very detailed knowledge of the conditions of the detector, making the calibrations a crucial aspect of its operation. LIP has been very involved in the development of a ionization laser calibration system, with a first prototype being deployed at the ProtoDUNE prototype during 2022. Besides having designed one of the laser periscopes, we are also responsible for the development of the control and monitoring tools, as well as the Calibration Interface Board - a set of electronics that will coordinate the operation of the whole system and interface with the DAQ. These electronics consist of a series of modules, including a system-on-chip (SoC) composed of a powerful FPGA that will implement the fast logic, and an ARM CPU, that will implement the interface software and high level operations. In this internship, we will be developing FPGA firmware modules and software algorithms that will be integrated into the CIB, to implement some of its functions. At the end of the internship, the developed modules will be tested in a laboratory setup, in order to demonstrate its functional operation. During this internship the students will become familiar with FPGA and one of its programming languages, and be in close contact with the associated instrumentation (FPGA development board, oscilloscope, multimeters, power supplies, etc).

Experiment : Neutrinos
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Nuno Barros
Email : barros@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : Until mid-August. If student is interested, could also dedicate some time in September.

Separation of gammas and betas with ML techniques in the SNO+ Experiment
SNO+ is a large liquid scintillator experiment whose primary goal is the search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0nbb) in 130Te. The observation of this yet unobserved decay has many far reaching implications: it would prove that the neutrino is a Majorana fermion, i.e., is its own antiparticle, it would violate lepton number conservation, and would fulfill one of the necessary conditions for leptons to have contributed to the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. This decay is extremely rare. Its current limits on the lifetime of the decay are already well over the age of the universe, making this decay exceedingly difficult to observe. By using a large, very clean detector and a high abundance candidate isotope, SNO+ has one of the leading sensitivities of the upcoming experiments. One of the major challenges of SNO+ to observe this decay comes from the radioactive backgrounds, which are typically charcaterized by the emission of one or more gamma particles. This contrasts with the 0nbb signal, that is characterized by the emission of two beta particles. During this internship, we will be developing ML unsupervised ML algorithms to be able to find classifiers that would allow us to discriminate whether a SNO+ event was produced by the interaction of a gamma particle, or a beta particle. Initially this internship will rely on study of ML algorithms using Monte Carlo simulations of SNO+, with a later application to real data to characterize and evaluate the algorithms performance. During this internship the students will become familiar with neutrinoless double beta decay, liquid scintillator experiments, photon detection instrumentation, simulations using Monte-Carlo method and machine-learning algorithms.

Experiment : Neutrinos
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Nuno Barros
Email : barros@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : Until mid-August. If student is interested, could also dedicate some time in September.

Geo-neutrinos
Anti-neutrinos are produced by the natural Uranium and Thorium decay chains in the Earth and can give important information about the planet history and Earth models. The SNO+ neutrino detector will soon make first measurements on the North American Continental plate. That will be combined with the existing ones from Japan and Italy, to better isolate local features from planetary ones. The sensitivity of these measurements depends on how well these geo-neutrinos are separated from anti-neutrinos similarly produced in nuclear reactors and from other radioactive signals in the detector. The aim of this project is to quantify how the experimental uncertainties in the detection impact the interpretation of the results, when compared to those coming from geophysics.

Experiment : Neutrinos
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Sofia Andringa
Email : sofia@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July-September

Identificação de isótopos no fluxo de raios cósmicos usando a construção de templates de massa a partir dos dados
Isótopos de elementos físicos como o hidrogénio, hélio e berílio existem em quantidades pequenas nos raios cósmicos que se detectam no topo da atmosfera terrestre. A sua pequena abundância relativa é indicativo da sua produção ao longo da propagação na galáxia das partículas cósmicas progenitoras produzidas nas fontes (supernovas). Assim, a identificação destes elementos permite um melhor conhecimento dos mecanismos de propagação dos raios cósmicos na galáxia. Neste estágio serão criadas amostras de eventos por técnicas de Monte-Carlo e será desenvolvida a técnica de identificação de isótopos com distribuições de referência de massa obtidas obtidas de forma iterativa a partir dos dados.

Experiment : AMS
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Fernando Barão; Miguel Orcinha
Email : barao@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : 2a quinzena de Julho, 1a e última semana de Agosto, 1a quinzena de Setembro.

Muon tomography from Coimbra to Lousal
Muography uses muons created by cosmic rays in the atmosphere to image very large objects. LIP’s muon telescope has been operated for more than one year in Coimbra and was now moved to the Lousal mine. Going deeper underground, the effects of muon scattering and the production of secondary particles become increasingly important, and their impact on the image reconstruction must be studied using computational simulations. Moreover, several of the data acquisitions already performed in Coimbra can be combined in order to produce optimized, high-resolution images, allowing an assessment of the muographer performance. In this project, the aforementioned studies are to be pursued in integration with the on-going activities of the LIP muography team. Note that this project may be developed at any of the three LIP nodes.

Experiment : MuTom
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Sofia Andringa, Raul Sarmento
Email : sofia@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : Flexible dates (July to August)

Probing the cosmic ray composition with SWGO
At LIP, we are deeply involved in the design of the next-generation gamma-ray observatory that will be built in South America to survey and monitor the Southern sky (swgo.org). While SWGO will be primarily dedicated to studying gamma-rays, it will be able to measure the highest energy cosmic rays produced in our Galaxy. Such is essential to understand the astrophysical engines responsible for the production of these particles and the magnetic fields surrounding us. In this internship, we propose investigating the ability to identify the cosmic ray mass composition using SWGO simulation data combined with machine learning algorithms.

Experiment : SWGO
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Ruben Conceição, Borja Serrano González
Email : ruben@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July to September

Sky watching in gamma rays: searching the Universe for High Energy processes
In the last years, the execution of High Energy Physics experiments and of extremely precise astronomical observations led to revolutionary results, creating intimate connections between Particle Physics and Cosmology. While on-ground particle accelerators, such as LHC in CERN, are working to unveal the nature of fundamental interactions, cosmic-ray and neutrino observatories, like the Pierre Auger and the IceCube experiments, discovered that the Universe is journeyed by particles that carry tremendous amounts of energy. The origins of these particles still have to be clarified, but several indications suggest that they come from relativistic shock waves produced by active galaxies, Gamma-Ray Bursts and SuperNova Remnants. A key aspect to confirm this interpretation lies in the search for simultaneous emission of high energy signals from sources that can be observed by gamma-rays, gravitational waves and neutrino detectors. The observation of gamma-rays, in particular, has so far played a leading role in the identification of potential sources. In this project, the interested students will participate to the configuration of an analysis pipeline that, starting from publicly available material, performs spectral and photometric measurements of gamma-ray observations carried out within the ongoing Fermi-LAT monitoring campaign. The students will learn to apply Fermi-LAT analysis to investigate the physics of high energy sources and to interact with High Energy Physics data structures. Familiarity with Linux-based systems is recommended, as well as a lively interest for Astronomy and programming languages.

Experiment : SWGO
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Giovanni La Mura, Ruben Conceição
Email : glamura@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July 1st until beginning of September (should end at the workshop)

Variabilidade temporal do fluxo de raios cósmicos
Em vários campos da física, a identificação de sinais implica uma análise em tempo e frequência, como é o caso na cosmologia das ondas gravitacionais ou em astroparticulas na análise dos raios cósmicos com carga eléctrica não nula medidos no topo da atmosfera terrestre e modulados pela actividade solar. Neste estágio pretende-se desenvolver uma ferramenta que faça a análise de sinais físicos variáveis no tempo com aplicação aos fluxos raios cósmicos que chegam à Terra.

Experiment : AMS
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Fernando Barão; Miguel Orcinha
Email : barao@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : 2a quinzena de Julho, 1a e última semana de Agosto, 1a quinzena de Setembro.

Muography of a water-Cherenkov detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the largest experiment in the world for the detection of cosmic rays, Its surface detector consists of an array of water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD). This project will explore the idea of using MARTA (segmented detectors below the WCD) and applying the muography technique to measure the muon energy spectrum. The MARTA detectors also acquire environmental data (temperature, pressure and humidity) that are used to adjust its operational parameters and must be analyzed to assess the impact on the muography results. These studies are integrated in the on-going activities of the LIP Auger and muography teams. Note that this project may be developed at any of the three LIP nodes.

Experiment : Auger
Node : Minho
Supervisor(s) : Raul Sarmento, Sofia Andringa
Email : raul@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : Flexible dates (July to August)

Audio analysis: measuring heart rate and classifying heart sounds
Heart sounds are used by medical doctors to assess the heart condition. A normal heart beat has two main sounds, S1 and S2. Abnormal, missing or extra sounds may be an indication of heart problems. In this project, machine learning algorithms will be used to detect the S1, S2 sounds, as well as abnormal and extra sounds, in order to measure the heart beat rate and to classify the heart sounds.

Experiment : CCMC
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Filipe Veloso, Ricardo Gonçalo
Email : filipe.veloso@coimbra.lip.pt
Number of students : 3
Dates : June - July

Characterization of state-of-the-art instrumentaion for timing RPCs detectors
timing Resistive Plate Chambers are large area detectors with good efficiency and excellent timing precision. They are capable to timing tag charged particles with a precision down to around 50 ps. To exploit this precision the Front End Electronic (FEE) and Data Acquisition System (DAQ), should contribute significantly less in order to do not degrade the timing precision. In this internship, we will characterize, mainly in term of timing precision, a state or the art DAQ (http://trb.gsi.de/), which incorporate FPGA-TDC based technology, and different high resolution FEE used in different RPC setups. At the end of the internship, we will characterize a working setup. A small four-plane RPC telescope, designed for precise cosmic ray measurements, equipped with the aforementioned DAQ and one of the FEEs under study. The students will become familiar and in close contact with the necessary instrumentation (oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, TDCs, ....) and software (daq control, data unpackers, calibration).

Experiment : RPC
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Alberto Blanco
Email : alberto@coimbra.lip.pt
Number of students : 3
Dates : Julho-Setembro

Desenvolvimento de ferramentas de análise para uma câmara de nevoeiro
A forma como a informação resultante da interacção de partículas/radiação é recolhida e tratada nos detectores (desde TACs usados em medicina até ao ATLAS no CERN) é quase sempre complexa e difícil de interpretar por público não especializado, nomeadamente jovens em idade escolar. Para tentar ultrapassar este iato, recorremos a tecnologia simples e construímos uma câmara de nevoeiro, que é um dos poucos tipos de detector que permite ver a olho nú o resultado da passagem de partículas carregadas em tempo real - e não apenas através de um ecrã de computador. No LIP Coimbra foi desenvolvida e construída uma câmara de nevoeiro para reforçar as atividades de divulgação científica e promover conhecimentos sobre radioatividade e física de partículas. Esta câmara está equipada com um sistema computadorizado de controlo dos parâmetros de funcionamento bem como uma câmara de vídeo para captura das imagens dos traços para armazenamento e análise. Neste projecto, os alunos irão trabalhar com a câmara de nevoeiro acima referida e desenvolver todas as ferramentas necessárias para extração de informação dos traços das partículas e da sua interpretação (à semelhança do que é feito nas grandes experiências), em detalhe: Identificação automática usando ferramentas de visão computacional dos traços de partículas e sua parametrização (e.g. comprimento, densidade do nevoeiro, identificação de vértices); Optimização dos parâmetros de funcionamento da câmara para garantir a melhor qualidade possível dos traços; Extração de parâmetros físicos dos traços guardados (e.g. curva de Bragg), e; Usar as ferramentas desenvolvidas para construção de um módulo para acompanhar a câmara de nevoeiro em actividades de divulgação científica com o objectivo de ilustrar todo o processo envolvido na obtenção de resultados experimentais em física. As actividades irão ser desenvolvidas no LIP Coimbra. Os alunos vão aprender os conceitos básicos das seguintes áreas: Física de partículas, radioatividade e interacção da radiação com matéria; Sistemas de monitorização e controlo; Processamento da imagem e visão computacional, e; Análise de dados.

Experiment : CCMC
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Francisco Neves, Filipe Veloso e Vladimir Solovov
Email : francisco.neves@coimbra.lip.pt
Number of students : 3
Dates : Julho ou Setembro

Participação no desenvolvimento de um conceito inovador de detetor de neutrões
A nova geração de instrumentos de neutrões a instalar na ESS-European Spallation Source (a maior infraestrutura científica e tecnológica atualmente em construção na Europa), bem como em outras instalações já existentes e em futuras fontes de espalhamento, exige o desenvolvimento de novos detetores de neutrões de elevada eficiência, elevada taxa de contagem, e alta resolução espacial e temporal. Em colaboração com investigadores do Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) na Alemanha, do ISIS Neutron and Muon Source na Inglaterra e da ESS na Suécia, estamos a desenvolver no LIP, em Coimbra, um conceito inovador de detetor para neutrões lentos e térmicos com capacidade de leitura a 4D (XYZ e tempo), para aplicações de difração/reflectometria de neutrões e imagiologia de neutrões resolvida no tempo. O novo conceito, nRPC-4D, combina duas tecnologias: t-RPC (câmara de placas resistivas temporizadas) desenvolvidas para aplicações à física de altas energias, e conversores de neutrões. Dada a sua notável capacidade de sincronização, combinada com alta resolução espacial, os detetores nRPC-4D apresentam um elevado potencial para gerar inovação, como por exemplo na introdução de novos métodos de imagiologia com neutrões resolvidos no tempo e na energia. Os alunos participarão em estudos experimentais de um detetor protótipo que está atualmente a ser construído, envolvendo testes com fontes radioativas, recolha de dados e sua análise, tendo em vista a caraterização e aperfeiçoamento do protótipo. Os alunos terão também a oportunidade de contactar com os trabalhos de investigação em curso no grupo envolvendo, por exemplo, simulação e otimização de detetores de neutrões.

Experiment : nDet
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Luís Margato and Andrey Morozov
Email : margato@coimbra.lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July and September

First Measurements with a scintillating fibre microdosimeter
In radiotherapy, a long time necessity is the description of interactions and biological effects of ionizing radiation at a cellular level. This is the objective of a multidisciplinary field called radiobiology. From radiobiology studies, it is possible to understand how different radiation types compare to each other when it comes to their biological effect. The literature shows that to have a proper correlation between the dosimetric measurements and the biological effects it is necessary to have a dose distribution map at a submillimeter scale. For this purpose, the Dosimetry group of LIP has been developing a detector that utilizes scintillating optical fibres. This way it is possible to take advantage of the optical fibre`s small size and develop a detector with good spatial resolution. In this internship, the successful candidate will participate in optical fibres characterization, dosimeter prototype irradiations and calibration. Paired with the instrumentation work with Monte Carlo simulations (FLUKA). Basic programming and computational knowledge (C++, Python, Linux) will be necessary but not a mandatory requirement.

Experiment : RADART
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Joao Gentil Saraiva, Duarte Guerreiro
Email : gentil@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : July-Sptember

Measuring the Sky
If you open your hand, you’ll get around 400 highly energetic muons per minute. Shoud you be worried? What are these cosmic particles and how do you measure them? In this intership we’ll simulate these particles in Geant4, a toolkit for the simulation of the passage of particles through matter, and build a detector able to detect them. These experimental results will be compared with your simulation giving you the full experimental physics package!

Experiment : NUC-RIA
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Tomás Sousa and Pamela Teubig
Email : tsousa@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : 1st June until 15th of September

Novos materiais cintilantes para futuros detectores de partículas
Os materiais plásticos cintilantes são muito utilizados na detecção de partículas em experiências de Física Nuclear e de Altas Energias - a radiação ionizante excita o material, que emite luz através de cintilação em quantidade proporcional à energia depositada pela partícula a medir. Este projecto visa a investigação de materiais orgânicos compostos por PET (Tereftalato de Polietileno) e PEN (Naftalato de Polietileno), potencialmente mais luminosos e com maior longevidade, que respondam aos requisitos de experiências futuras tais como as do Futuro Colisionador Circular do CERN. O trabalho é desenvolvido numa colaboração entre o LIP e o Instituto de Polímeros e Compósitos (IPC) da UMinho, com recurso a técnicas de manufactura industrializáveis. Este estágio irá permitir investigar técnicas de manufactura de placas cintilantes de base polimérica e estudar as propriedades de cintilação de diferentes materiais. Pequenas placas cintilantes (30x30x2mm3) serão produzidas no IPC através de extrusão e injecção de molde de PET, PEN e de misturas de PET/PEN em diferentes proporções. Estas amostras serão caracterizadas em termos das propriedades ópticas e de cintilação (resposta luminosa, espectro de emissão, transparência) no LOMaC. O objectivo é optimizar a composição material da amostra e a técnica de manufactura.

Experiment : LOMaC
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Rute Pedro, Agostinho Gomes
Email : rute@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : July and 1 to 15 Septemberune 15 to September 15

nRPC simulation with TOPAS
Neutron detectors are commonly made with 3He, a gas that is now expensive and difficult to obtain. In this sense, new detectors are required to meet the demands of neutron facilities worldwide. Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are gaseous detectors widely used for large area detectors with applications in several fields, such as High Energy Physics or Astroparticle Physics. Some of the major advantages of these detectors are their simple structure, low price, good spatial resolution and fast timing. Furthermore, their layer configuration makes the design of the detector flexible. Up to now, RPCs have never been used to construct any neutron detector with both good resolution and spatial efficiency. Some modifications to the existing RPCs are required in order to detect neutrons. The goal of this internship is to study the efficiency of an RPC for detecting neutrons. This will be done by implementing an RPC using TOPAS, an advanced Monte Carlo simulation code that extends the Geant4 Simulation Toolkit.

Experiment : NUC-RIA
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Rita Pestana, Daniel Galaviz
Email : ritapestana@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : July - September

Performance of microdosimetric detectors using Monte-Carlo
The development of instruments that can make direct micrometric measurements of the effects of radiation on healthy tissue and cancer cells is of great importance. Improving and increasing the available techniques for this purpose is of great interest. The project aims the development of Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations (Geant4/TOPAS) to use as baselines for laboratory developments. The first task is the study of the performance of cladless scintillating optical microfibers (1 – 10 um). These are 20 times lower than the currently commercially available cladded fibres. It is so purposed to describe using MC the dependence of the fibre response on doping agents, the role of cladded vs cladless in the optimization of light collection and the resulting impact on spatial resolution in closed pack structures of micrometric fibre. The second study is on the dependence of doping agents in Al2O3 crystals for particle/radiation detection. Al2O3 crystals are already used to achieve a more detailed description of the energy deposition and even identify particles. The crystal`s particular ability is a consequence of using specific doping agents (atoms). In this preliminary study, the goal is to perform a comparative analysis of the particle/radiation`s interaction probability and interaction types (i.e., gamma, electrons, neutrons, protons, ions) in crystals of Al2O3 with different doping agents. The student will become familiar with the Monte Carlo simulation tools and will have the opportunity to work closely with similar ongoing research work in this investigation group. Basic knowledge of C++ programming and Linux OS is required, and a lot of enthusiasm and interest will be beneficial to the final results. A base code is given to the students to start their research work, adding still the guarantee of the team support throughout the project.

Experiment : RADART
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Joao Gentil Saraiva, Cristiana Rodrigues
Email : gentil@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July-September

Simulating cellular response to radiation
The simulation of ionising radiation and their impact on cellular response remains an area of intense research. Within this internship, the work will focus on the modelling of ionising radiation and the induced cellular damage. This will be done by using TOPAS, an advanced Monte Carlo simulation code that extends the Geant4 Simulation Toolkit to describe interactions of primary particles, secondary particles, and radiolysis products within the nucleus.

Experiment : RADART
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Pamela Teubig, Carina Coelho, Rita Pestana and Lia Pereira
Email : pteubig@lip.pt
Number of students : 3
Dates : 1st July until 15th of September

Study of new scintillator samples for future detectors
Organic scintillators with novel polymeric substrates are being developed in collaboration with the Institute for Polymers and Composites of the Minho University towards the design of detectors for future collider experiments. Radiation hardness and large scintillation light output of the materials are two critical points to optimize since the combination of these factors determine the lifetime and applicability of the scintillators. This project will focus on the optical characterisation of the produced scintillator samples, measuring their light response, emission and absorption spectra, light attenuation length. The student will also contribute to the development and assembly of a new instrument for the measurement of the absolute light yield. The work will be carried out at LIP`s Laboratory of Optics and Scintillating Materials.

Experiment : LOMaC
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Rute Pedro, Agostinho Gomes, João Gentil
Email : rute@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : 15 June to 15 September

Target preparation at FCUL
Targets are fundamental part of any nuclear physics experiment. Important aspects are properties like thickness, mechanical stability and composition. Within this internship, targets will be prepared using thermal evaporation at the evaporator laboratory situated at FCUL. Characterisation will be carried out by alpha particle E-loss transmission and/or Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry techniques. The experimental results from the characterisation will be compared to simulation codes.

Experiment : NUC-RIA
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Pamela Teubig and Ricardo Pires
Email : pteubig@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : 1st July until 15th of September

Upgrade of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter High Voltage System
The upgrade of the ATLAS detector to work at the high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) implies the replacement of all the electronics of the Tilecal hadronic calorimeter, including the high voltage (HV) system that feeds the 10000 Tilecal photomultipliers, as the existing HV system is not able to survive in the radiation environment predicted for the HL-LHC. The new high voltage system will be located outside the detector in an area not exposed to radiation, and consists of high voltage regulator and distributor cards and high voltage DC-DC converter cards that produce the primary HV (HV supplies). To take the HV to the detector, cables of about 100 meters in length will be used, and inside the detector the HV will be distributed by Hvbus distribution cards. The new HV system is being developed at LIP. The last prototype boards are being designed and tested. The boards will be tested on the existing crate prototype, using specific software developed for the respective control and monitoring. At this project, the performance of the various prototypes will be evaluated.

Experiment : ATLAS
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Agostinho Gomes, Guiomar Evans, Luis Gurriana
Email : agomes@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : mainly July, some flexibility ~1 week before and after

Using Big Data to Study Geographical Variation in Antibiotic Prescription
The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the major threats to human health, food safety, and the economy. The factors behind its emergence and maintenance remain poorly understood, but the widespread societal use of antibiotics is very likely to be one of the major drivers of such resistance. Country-wide prescription data, provided by the Portuguese Health Ministry (through the SPMS), has been analyzed by our group in the past few years and we have been observing large variations in prescription rates depending on location, medical specialties, and age of the patient, among others. With this study we intend to clarify whether there is a greater risk of being prescribed an antibiotic, adjusting for factors such as gender and age of the population, depending on the region where the person lives. With a database of five years (2017 to 2021) of all prescription data, a comparative analysis before and after the COVID-19 pandemic will also reflect if the problem has worsened, leading to an increase in antibiotic prescriptions, or if it led to an overall decrease in antibiotic consumption. To accomplish the work proposed, the student will become familiar with epidemiological data, as well as with non-traditional health data sources, like Google Trends API, that reflect human behavior. The student will be involved in data extraction from existing databases, curation of a large volume of data in order to produce spatial data analysis, data collection to complement existing datasets, and statistical analysis.

Experiment : SPAC
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Sara Mesquita e Irma Varela-Lasheras
Email : smesquita@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : July-September

Autoencoders as a tool for unsupervised searches at the LHC
The use of autoencoders will be explored in the context of generic searches in hadronic colliders, namely at the LHC. A systematic study of the latent space, as well as of the architecture of the networks will be done in order to maximise the sensitivity to phenomena beyond the Standard Model.

Experiment : SimBigDat
Node : Minho
Supervisor(s) : Nuno Castro e Miguel Romão
Email : nfcastro@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : Julho - Agosto

Quantum computing and quantum machine learning at High Energy Physics
The selected students will develop a project on the use of quantum machine learning for the analysis of LHC data.

Experiment : SimBigDat
Node : Minho
Supervisor(s) : Nuno Castro and Miguel Romão
Email : nuno.castro@cern.ch
Number of students : 2
Dates : June-July 2022

Probing the vacuum with di-Higgs production
The Higgs boson is unique among all known particles, and intimately connected to the breaking of electroweak symmetry that shaped the fundamental forces in the Universe today. The study of its properties and interactions can give us invaluable clues to what new physics may be behind the Standard Model (SM). In this project, the student will study the production of events containing two Higgs bosons, at the LHC and at the Future Circular Collider (FCC), a giant collider being planned at CERN to reach even higher energy than the LHC. The study will involve learning how to run a Monte Carlo simulation of the collisions and how to analyze the results. Good programming skills, basic knowledge of particle physics, enthusiasm and curiosity will be important assets in this work.

Experiment : FCC
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Ricardo Gonçalo, Filipe Veloso
Email : jgoncalo@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : 6/6 a 30/7

Estudo da produção central e exclusiva de pares tau-tau no LHC
O LHC é um acelerador de partículas que fica perto de Genevra. LHC permite accelerar partículas chamadas protões até alcançar uma energia de 6.5 TeV e uma velocidade próxima a velocidade da luz. Quando os protões têm a energia mencionada, colidem em correspondência de detetores. No nosso estudo, os protões colidem no ponto de interação 5 (IP5) do LHC. À volta do IP5 temos um detetor de partículas chamado “Compact Muon Solenoid” (CMS). CMS permite de medir as quantidades cinemáticas (momento, energia, …) das partículas produzidas na interação. De facto, a interação entre os protões cria no estado final uma grande quantidade de partículas: a ideia é que a energia inicial dos protões é utilizada para criar novas partículas no estado final. Como a energia dos protões é muito elevada, o numero de partículas no estado final pode ser muito elevado. No nosso estudo, vamos focar a nossa atenção num particular processo, chamado “produção central e exclusiva de pares tau-tau”. Neste processo, os protões interagem sem dissociar-se. Isso significa que, durante a interação, os protões perdem energia mas não se “rompem”; por tanto, depois da interação, vamos observar no estado final os dois protões com menos energia e um conjunto de outras partículas geradas a partir da energia perdida pelos protões. Como nos estamos interessados no estudo da produção central e exclusiva de pares tau-tau, então vamos focar a nossa atenção nos acontecimentos caraterizados pela presencia no estado final apenas dum par de protões e um par de tau. Os estudantes selecionados vão ter a oportunidade de trabalhar com os dados guardados pelo LHC e vão ter a oportunidade de ter um papel significativo no desenvolvimento dum estudo que está a ser realizado junto com a colaboração CMS do CERN. Em particular, com a assistência dos investigadores do LIP, os estudantes vão isolar os acontecimentos de interesse e, através de técnicas avançadas de analise multi-variada, vão ter a oportunidade de medir a seção eficaz do processo (ou seja a “probabilidade” que este processo aconteça). Os estudantes vão ter todo o apoio da nossa equipa, em particular vamos dar lições introdutivas para explicar os conceitos mais importantes do modelo padrão. O que pedimos é um bocado de experiencia previa na programação. A linguagem utilizada vai ser C++, contudo não é preciso um conhecimento profundo. Para além disso, vamos a utilizar muito frequentemente um programa chamado “ROOT”. Contudo, vamos dar uma formação completa sobre este assunto e não é preciso ter experiência previa.

Experiment : CMS
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Matteo Pisano, Michele Gallinaro
Email : pisano.matteo96@gmail.com
Number of students : 3
Dates : Final de Junho + Julho + Setembro

High-precision timing detectors for HL-LHC
The group is developing high precision timing detectors based on LYSO crystals, silicon photomultipliers and dedicated ASIC electronics for the extended upgrade of the CMS experiment towards the future high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). The student will be involved in the experimental tests of the detectors for performance evaluation.

Experiment : CMS
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Tahereh Niknejad, Cristóvão da Cruz e Silva
Email : tniknejad@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : August (flexible)

Investigating the Flavor Anomalies
The recent "Flavor Anomalies" form the strongest evidence for new physics (NP) at colliders. These are revealed in quark-level transitions, such as b-> s, a process that is disfavoured in the standard model (SM) but can more readily occur in NP scenarios (for example, involving new gauge or Higgs bosons or even stranger new particles known as leptoquarks). The search and study of such rare decays are extremely powerful analyses to probe physics beyond the SM. These so-called indirect searches, performed at particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), offer sensitivity to the presence of NP at energy scales much larger than the actual energy of the collisions. The rare decays of B hadrons are particularly interesting processes to study: their decay rate being highly suppressed in the SM, they are sensitive up to very small interferences from NP effects. The decay of the B0 meson into K*0 mu+ mu- is in particular an ideal candidate for these studies: the decay rate is doubly suppressed in the SM (occurring only via quantum mechanical loops), and an analysis of the angular distribution of the produced particles and of the decay rates allow measuring several parameters sensitive to different NP sources, while experimentally the presence of two muons also facilitates the identification of this decay in busy collision events. The interest in this decay channel has been raised when several measurements performed by the LHC experiments (LHCb, CMS, ATLAS) and elsewhere showed evidence of discrepancies from the SM predictions that, if confirmed, point to the presence of NP. The Compact Muon Solenoid collaboration (CMS) with the analysis with the data collected in 2012 showed to be able to produce a measurement of these parameters among the most precise ever performed. We are currently analysing the large amount of data collected in 2016, 2017 and 2018 with the goal of producing a very precise measurement, to confirm the discrepancy or prove it wrong. In this project, you will work with data collected by the CMS experiment during these three years. You will analyse the spectrum of the B0 meson mass and decay angle distributions, exploring means for describing the spectra observed in the data, separating signal from background, and using statistical procedures for characterizing and measuring the signal properties. The work has the potential for significantly contributing to the CMS-wide exploration of the tantalizing Flavor Anomalies

Experiment : CMS
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Alessio Boletti, Nuno Leonardo
Email : alessio.boletti@cern.ch
Number of students : 2
Dates : July - September

Pinning down QCD contributions to flavor anomalies
One of the most exciting places to look for physics beyond the Standard Model are flavor anomalies in B-meson decays. The current observations at the LHC and B-meson factories imply a possible violation of lepton flavor universality. However, the Standard Model predictions usually involve little-constrained contributions from Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong interaction. QCD binds quarks and gluons to hadrons, like B mesons, but understandanding the dynamics of hadrons is quite non-trivial: the strong coupling becomes large at low momenta and prohibits the use of perturbation theory, so one needs nonperturbative methods. The same is true for the QCD contributions entering in Standard Model processes: if we want to be sure to have the Standard Model predictions under control, we need to pin down the QCD contributions as precisely as possible. In this project we will explore the B -> K meson transitions, which proceed through the elementary flavor-changing process b -> s involving a neutral current. This needs at least a loop diagram with an intermediate W boson to work. Here we will develop the tools to compute this transition nonperturbatively by summing up all possible numbers of intermediate W bosons and gluons. The final goal is to make a prediction for the B -> K transition matrix element.

Experiment : NPStrong
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Gernot Eichmann, Raúl Torres
Email : gernot.eichmann@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July - September

Searching for Feebly Interacting Particles with SHiP and SND@LHC
The search for particles with feeble interaction strength (FIPs) is compelling. Even if the discovery of the Higgs boson 10 years ago (2012) marked the completion of the standard model (SM), the search for new particles has not ended just yet: SM particles alone cannot explain several established phenomena (e.g. dark matter, matter-antimatter imbalance, neutrino masses). A compelling reason why such new particles haven’t been yet established is the possibility that they interact very feebly with SM particles, having thus evading detection. The search for FIPs is therefore receiving an explosion of interest, being carried out through several complementary projects. SHiP (Search for Hidden Particles) will be a next-generation fixed-target experiment in the intensity frontier (CERN SPS). SND@LHC (Scattering and Neutrino Detector) is the most recent LHC experiment, that is starting to take data with Run3 of the LHC. The projects are related, and aim at studying neutrinos and look for potential new FIPs beyond the SM. The project will involve the exploration of machine learning techniques for distinguishing between FIP signals, namely neutrinos, heavy neutral leptons and dark photons. The project will employ data simulated with SHiP. (There may be also the possibility of having a look at the very first LHC data collected with the new SND detector and working directly within the collaboration.)

Experiment : SHiP/SND@LHC
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Guilherme Soares, Nuno Leonardo
Email : guilherme.m.s.soares@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : From July to September

Anomaly Detection in all-hadronic boosted final states
The Standard Model (SM) of Particle Physics is notably descriptive and predicted new particles well in advance, from which the Higgs boson discovered at CERN`s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a remarkable case. However, there is paramount evidence of the need for beyond-Standard Model (BSM) physics, namely to provide dark matter candidates, explain the matter/dark-matter asymmetry, address the hierarchy problem and others. The rich program on searches for New Physics (NP) at the LHC has not yet found clues from new particles or interactions. As such, the search for new phenomena is being complemented by a new analysis paradigm guided by anomaly detection (AD) techniques. Contrarily to conventional searches that look for specific signals, AD searches for any event different from the SM predictions, ensuring that if new physics is present in the LHC data it will not be missed by a priori hypotheses. This proposal is to explore AD techniques based on Deep Learning ((variational-) auto-encoders or Deep SVDD) with a sample of events consisting of all-hadronic boosted final states with missing transverse energy. The Deep neural networks will learn SM physics from simulated/real data under semi-supervised/unsupervised training, and then look for anomalous non-SM-like events in the real collision data. Benchmark NP signals will be used as tests throughout the AD development. The project will be integrated in the Simulation and Big Data Competence Centre at LIP.

Experiment : SimBigDat
Node : Minho
Supervisor(s) : Nuno Castro, Rute Pedro
Email : rute@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : June 15 to September 15

Explorando os dados públicos de ATLAS
Neste projecto irão ser explorados os dados públicos de ATLAS, permitindo preparar uma cadeia de análise de dados destinada a identificar um sinal em estudo.

Experiment : ATLAS
Node : Minho
Supervisor(s) : Nuno Castro
Email : nuno.castro@cern.ch
Number of students : 3
Dates : Julho 2022

Search for New Phenomena in the Top quark sector using Anomaly Detection in the ATLAS/LHC Experiment
The Standard Model (SM) of Particle Physics is notably descriptive and predicted new particles well in advance, from which the Higgs boson discovered at CERN`s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a remarkable case. However, there is paramount evidence of the need for beyond-Standard Model (BSM) physics, namely to provide dark matter candidates, explain the matter/dark-matter asymmetry, address the hierarchy problem and others. The LHC has a rich program on searches for New Physics (NP) but clues from new particles or interactions have not yet arisen. Events with top-quarks may directly disclose new particles from SM extensions that mix with the top quark sector, either decaying into top-quarks or produced in association with it. Specific searches are performed, for instance, in events with a boosted top- quark and missing transverse energy, in the fully hadronic topology, to probe the single production of vector-like top-quarks or dark matter signatures at the LHC. However, these searches are guided by these specific NP signals and need a complementary strategy, independent of such assumptions. This proposal is to use anomaly detection (AD) techniques, such as (variational-) auto-encoders and Deep SVDD, to search for events that are unlikely to be compatible with the SM, ensuring that if new physics is present in the LHC data, it will not be missed by a priori hypotheses. Events consisting of a boosted hadronic top-quark decay and missing transverse energy collected by the ATLAS/LHC experiment will be analysed. The Deep neural networks will learn SM physics from simulated/real data under semi-supervised/unsupervised training, and then look for anomalous non-SM-like events in the real collision data. Benchmark NP signals will be used as tests throughout the AD development. The project will be integrated into the ATLAS Portuguese group and in the ATLAS collaboration group analysing Monotop events.

Experiment : ATLAS
Node : Minho
Supervisor(s) : Nuno Castro, Rute Pedro
Email : rute@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : June 15 to September 15

Phenomenology in jet-quenching: looking for biases
Current heavy-ion studies conducted in the Large Hadron Collider are intensely focused on understanding the properties of the emergent state of matter called the Quark-Gluon Plasma. This fast-expanding liquid has remarkable properties whose assessment depends on well-calibrated probes. Among them, jets, the experimental proxy of the high-energy quark or gluon produced concurrently with the collision, are excellent candidates. In proton-proton collisions its theoretical description lies within perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics, the Standard Model sector that describes the Strong Interaction. However, in the presence of a plasma, these objects are modified by their interactions with the medium. The observed magnitude of QGP-induced effects will depend on the amount of medium traversed by each jet and on the fragmentation properties of the initial quark or gluon. Strategies to separate these two effects are urgently needed to understand the QGP and how it is formed. In this internship, the selected students will delve into the mechanisms that govern the fragmentation of these elementary particles and devise phenomenological strategies to identify the driving mechanisms that lead to medium-induced modification of jets.

Experiment : Pheno
Node : Coimbra
Supervisor(s) : Liliana Apolinário, Ricardo Gonçalo
Email : liliana@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July, August

Atomic data calculations and their application in kilonovae modeling
The astrophysical origin of elements heavier than iron, such as gold and uranium is still unknown. Nevertheless, recent observations of the electromagnetic transient associated with the collision of two neutron stars (a so-called kilonova) seem to point to an abundant presence of heavy elements in the ejected material. As a result, neutron-star mergers are thought to be one of the main sites of production of those elements via a rapid neutron-capture process (r-process). In order to study such electromagnetic signals it is necessary to combine an accurate description of atomic inputs with sophisticated astrophysical simulations. However, atomic data regarding r-process ions, particularly lanthanide and actinide ions, are scarce. In this project we will study the atomic structure of lanthanides and actinides and develop computational tools, using state-of-the-art atomic codes to efficiently calculate energy levels, transitions and other atomic inputs. The final goal is to make predictions of the opacity of one significant r-process element, which will be used for the simulation of kilonovae lightcurves.

Experiment : NUC-RIA
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Jorge Sampaio, Ricardo Ferreira da Silva
Email : rfsilva@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : July - September

Deciphering the inner workings of the Quark-Gluon Plasma
Heavy-ion collisions are an excellent laboratory to study the quark-gluon plasm (QGP), an almost perfect liquid made of quarks and gluons, the elementary particles described by one of the building blocks of the Standard Model of particle physics: Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). QGP physics revolves around a multi-scale problem: from the highly energetic quarks and gluons described by perturbative QCD (jets) to the collective motion of strongly interacting gluons at lower energy scales. While complex, this versatility opens a multitude of opportunities to analyze the dynamics of this state of quantum matter. At the LHC (CERN) and RHIC (BNL), jets are widely used as the fundamental probe of this system. They propagate through the fast-expanding medium, carrying information about its evolution. In this internship, the student will join our efforts to use these objects to study the complex dynamics of the medium. The work consists of exploring different jet algorithms to unveil the transverse structure of the QGP that is currently produced in these ultra-relativistic heavy-ion colliders.

Experiment : Pheno
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Liliana Apolinário, André Cordeiro, Guilherme Milhano
Email : liliana@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : June, July, August

Identification of kaons using Neural Networks in COMPASS and AMBER experiments at CERN
The famous Higgs boson interaction is responsible for less than 1% of the proton mass. AMBER is a future experiment at CERN which will try to answer the question: where do the hadron masses come from? In one of the planned measurements a kaon beam (strange meson) will interact with a proton target producing two muons, the so-called Drell-Yan process. However, in the available negative hadron beam only 2.5% of the particles are kaons, the rest being mostly pions. The particle species can be identified by detectors called CEDARs, but the very high intensity of the beam makes their operation challenging. The idea of this internship is to use Neural Networks to distinguish between kaons and pions in the beam. The student will investigate the sensitivity of the kaon selection performance due to detector stability, beam reconstruction uncertainties, beam intensity and momentum. Based on these studies one will know which aspects one should focus in order to improve kaon selection. Tools used include: Keras Neural Network package, python and ROOT.

Experiment : P&QCD
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Marcin Stolarski
Email : mstolars@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : 3-4 weeks between July-September+ to be agreed with a student

Novel probes of the primordial plasma
At the LHC, we recreate droplets of the primordial medium that permeated the universe microseconds after the big bang. Heavy-flavor particles are highly sensitive “hard probes” of the properties of this hot and dense soup of quarks and gluons (the quark-gluon plasma, QGP). The decays of these heavy particles are being reconstructed for the first time ever in such a challenging and busy collision environment by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The goal of this project is to study and reconstruct B meson signals produced in lead and proton collisions to study critical properties of the QGP. This will be achieved by exploring PbPb and pp datasets collected by the CMS experiment in the most recent LHC run. The exploration of these meson signals will facilitate unique information about the underlying properties of the QGP medium.

Experiment : CMS
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Henrique Legoinha, Nuno Leonardo
Email : nuno.leonardo@cern.ch
Number of students : 2
Dates : July-September

QCD jets visualisation tool
Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), one of the Standard Model of Particle Physics building blocks, describes the interaction of the elementary particles called quarks and gluons. When brought into high-energy collisions, these constituents of all hadronic matter of our universe produce sprays of particles called jets. These objects are often regarded as a cascade of subsequent emissions in which the original quark or gluon generates a shower of elementary QCD particles. In this internship, the selected students will assign a time structure to this QCD cascade with the subsequent development of a visualisation tool of the process. The result will be an invaluable tool with diverse applications, from outreach activities to the current studies dedicated to assessing the evolution of the Quark-Gluon Plasma created in heavy-ion collisions. Location: LIP-Lisboa and LIP-Braga

Experiment : Pheno
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : Liliana Apolinário, Catarina Espírito Santo, Henrique Carvalho
Email : liliana@lip.pt
Number of students : 2
Dates : July, August

Simulation of stellar explosions and stellar nucleosynthesis
All the matter that are present in our lives was created during violent processes that happen in the universe. Within this internship, we will analyse some of these processes and simulate them numerically in order to find out the ideal conditions to create some of the nuclei that are synthesized in the universe, To do that, we will use the NucNet Tools code, a C++ code that allows, by solving time-dependent differential equations, the study of the elemental abundance under certain astrophysical conditions.

Experiment : NUC-RIA
Node : Lisboa
Supervisor(s) : João Jantarada / Daniel Galaviz
Email : jafonsojanta@lip.pt
Number of students : 1
Dates : July till September