Poppy Savory

PhD thesis:

Eco-friendly gas mixtures for future gaseous detectors at the HL-LHC and beyond

Long-lived particles (LLPs) can be studied using Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), which are gaseous particle detectors. ANUBIS is a newly proposed LLP detector which will be placed above the beam line, on the ceiling of the ATLAS cavern at the CERN super collider. ANUBIS will consist of large RPCs. RPCs operate using the current CERN standard mixture, which is damaging to the environment. Therefore, this project aims to study the RPCs' detector performance using different gas mixtures, with a focus on environmental sustainability. I will be performing simulation studies of candidate eco-gases and use machine learning techniques to make predictions of performance. I will also be conducting studies using RPCs with different detector pitches (distance between metallic readout strips) to optimise the practical setup.

Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?

I have always found particle/detector physics to be extremely fascinating. This project really grasped my interest due to the hands-on experimental element. I have pursued experimental projects in the past and I found that I love being within a physics lab taking measurements, analysing data and drawing my own conclusions. For my Masters project at Cambridge, I was doing a similar project within the same department (ATLAS/ANUBIS), and I thoroughly enjoyed every element, especially the collaborative side. The prospect of being involved in such an incredible research group excites me.