Dr Josh McFayden at the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, Switzerland

Experimental particle physicist Dr Josh McFayden has been appointed to lead a major working group within ATLAS, one of the experiments at the world-renowned Large Hadron Collider (LHC) based at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.

From October 2024, he will oversee the working group responsible for measurements related to the top quark, the heaviest fundamental particle ever discovered.

The top quark's large mass gives it unique properties that are crucial to our understanding of fundamental physics. It plays a central role in investigations into the stability of the universe, intrinsically linked with the Nobel-prize winning discovery of the Higgs boson.

It also opens windows to extraordinary aspects of quantum physics, such as quantum entanglement, and it could potentially even reveal new forces of nature.

Josh remarked: “With over 100 million collisions involving top quarks in our latest dataset, there is the potential to make new scientific discoveries that could reshape our understanding of the Universe.”

Taking on the leadership of the ATLAS top quark working group, which comprises approximately 300 researchers and contributes to around 10% of ATLAS's scholarly output, marks a significant step in Josh’s career. His role will involve defining the strategy for exploiting both existing datasets and the new data that continues to be gathered.

“Over my two-year term, I will manage around 30 distinct measurements, a challenging responsibility!” Josh added.

Dr McFayden, a Royal Society University Research Fellow at Sussex, has made major contributions across ATLAS in physics analysis, Monte Carlo modelling and computing.

“I am really excited about the opportunity to shape the next wave of measurements involving the highest energy collisions ever achieved in a laboratory setting, using the largest sample of top quarks ever recorded, for one of the most complex scientific experiments on the planet.

“This role will also increase my presence at CERN, fostering more interactions with leading figures across various disciplines within particle physics, including those managing different areas within ATLAS, other projects at the Large Hadron Collider and theoretical physicists.

“For my career development this position is also very important. It raises my visibility within the global scientific community, confirming my standing as a world-leading expert in top quark physics.”

He expressed optimism that this will lead to new research opportunities, attract additional funding, foster team expansion, and stimulate innovative collaborations that that could open new avenues in the field.

Professor Antonella De Santo, who leads the ATLAS team at Sussex, remarked: "Josh is an acknowledged leader in top physics and most deserving of this appointment. He is an asset to Sussex and to the entire ATLAS Collaboration. I have no doubt that the ATLAS Top Working Group will thrive and yield many outstanding physics outputs under his leadership.”

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