This primer describes the general model independent searches for new physics phenomena beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. First, the motivation for performing general model independent experimental searches for new physics is presented by giving an overview of the current theoretical understanding of particle physics in terms of the Standard Model of particle physics and its shortcomings. Then, the concept and features of general model independent search for new physics at collider based experiments is explained. This is followed by an overview of such searches performed in past high energy physics experiments and the current status of such searches, particularly in the context of the experiments at the LHC. Finally, the future prospects of such general model independent searches, with possible improvements using new tools such as machine learning techniques, is discussed.
Saranya Samik Ghosh is a scientific researcher at the RWTH Aachen University, working on the CMS experiment, on model independent search for new physics. He has been a member of the CMS collaboration since 2011, and has worked on precision standard model measurements and studies of the Higgs boson in the past, having also contributed to the first experimental observation of the production of the Higgs boson in association with a pair of top quarks. He obtained his PhD from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai in 2015 and had worked at CEA Paris-Saclay before joining the RWTH Aachen University. He is also actively involved in working on the muon detector system and on the object reconstruction efforts at the CMS experiment along with his work on physics analyses.
Thomas Hebbeker is professor for experimental physics at the RWTH Aachen University in Germany. He has been working on the CMS experiment at CERN for more than twenty years, contributing to muon detectors and to data analyses. His team is in particular searching for new particles, such as extra W bosons, excited leptons, or supersymmetric particles. Another important focus is model independent search for new physics. He is also member of the Pierre Auger Collaboration, measuring ultra high charged energy cosmic rays.
Arnd Meyer, at RWTH Aachen since 2003, has been searching for physics beyond the standard model for much of his scientific career. Having obtained his PhD in physics from Hamburg University in the H1 experiment at DESY, he crossed the Atlantic to join first the CDF and then the D0 experiments at Fermilab, where he took on leadership positions in running the experiments. Since the early 2000's he has pioneered a number of BSM searches, including excited leptons at the Tevatron, unparticles and lepton flavour violation at the LHC, and model independent searches at both. He is a member of the CMS collaboration since 2006.
Tobias Pook is a member of the CMS experiment at CERN since 2011 and has worked on searches for extra spatial dimensions before he joined the research group for model independent searches as the lead analyst for the study of 13TeV data. He developed and maintained major parts of the software framework for the model independent searches and helped to maintain the required GRID computing infrastructure.
