The heart of particle physics masterclass is the measurement of authentic data.
Choose your masterclass
Fermilab supports four masterclasses: LHC masterclasses using data from ATLAS or CMS, and neutrino masterclasses using data from MINERvA and NOvA. Each involves different measurements, but the goal of each is the same: to engage students in the analysis of particle physics data using accessible tools.
ATLAS | MINERvA |
NOvA | CMS |
Descriptions of measurements
ATLAS Z-path. Pairs of students examine sets of 50 actual events from the ATLAS Experiment at CERN using either the Java or the online version of HYPATIA and then combine results in the online hub OPloT. Students characterize events as dielectron, dimuon, diphoton, or four-lepton. They pass over events which they cannot characterize. HYPATIA calculates the invariant masses of particles that may be the parent particles in each event for inclusion one of several mass plots created in OPloT.
CMS WZH. Pairs of students examine sets of 100 actual events from the CMS Experiment at CERN using iSpy-webgl, an online three-dimensional event display. Events are characterized as 1-, 2-, or 4-lepton (excluding any neutrinos) and use the event display to find invariant masses of passible parent particles of the 2- and 4-lepton events. Events that cannot be characterized are labeled "Zoo" events. Students enter results in the online CMS Instrument for Masterclass Analysis (CIMA), which creates 2- and 4-lepton mass plots and counts electrons, muons, and W+ and W- candidates so that students may derive simple but important ratios that characterize the data.
MINERvA. Pairs of students examine sets of 50 actual event windows from the MINERvA Experiment at Fermilab using the ARACHNE event display. Students examine multiple events in each window to find those in which a neutrino enters collides with a neutron in a carbon atom in the detector. The result is a muon track and a proton track. Students find the momenta of these products to determine approximate neutrino beam energy as well as Fermi motion in the nucleus.
NOvA. Students look at the (many) neutrino detection events in the NOvA near detector at Fermilab in Batavia IL and the (few) neutrino detection events in the NOvA far detector at Ash River MN. After correcting for beam spread, students look for evidence of neutrino oscillations by characterizing the events as neutral current or charged current in each of the two detectors. Students use results of far detector visual characterizations to code an analysis of the both near and far detector events in a Python notebook.