Denys Wilkinson Building, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH
Dr Maria Mironova
Abstract
High-energy particle colliders provide our most direct access to fundamental physics, probing the Standard Model (SM) with unprecedented precision. While the discovery of the Higgs boson has confirmed the theory with remarkable accuracy, compelling evidence indicates that it is incomplete. As we enter the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) era, a central challenge will be to probe the Higgs boson through a programme that combines precision measurements, searches for unconventional signatures, and continued innovation in detector technology.
In this seminar, I will present recent ATLAS measurements of Higgs boson decays to heavy-flavour final states, with a particular focus on progress and outlook towards constraining the Higgs-charm Yukawa coupling - one of the fundamental parameters of the Standard Model that remains unmeasured. I will then discuss the role of the Higgs boson as a possible portal to new physics, focusing on searches for long-lived particles that give rise to displaced signatures and extend the experimental reach beyond conventional approaches.
Finally, I will turn to the detector developments that enable this physics programme, focusing on the upgrade of the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) for the HL-LHC. In particular, I will highlight work on the ITk pixel detector upgrade, including the development and characterisation of radiation-tolerant pixel readout ASICs within the RD53 collaboration. I will conclude by outlining future directions in detector R&D, including thin-film sensor technologies aimed at low-mass, high-precision tracking for next-generation Higgs factories.