The International Masterclasses in Particle Physics were opened at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) on March 6 in partnership with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The Tbilisi event was organized by the TSU High Energy Physics Institute.
The International Masterclasses take place in more than 200 places in 52 countries with more than 13 000 participants worldwide. They provide an opportunity for 15- to 19-year old students to unravel the mysteries of particle physics, as well as to perform measurements on real data from particle physics experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
Rector of TSU, Giorgi Sharvashidze attended the event. He emphasized the importance of the event as a huge opportunity for students to get involved in the most modern science in the world – modern physics. “Young people familiarize themselves with real data from the representatives of ATLAS experiment; they can discover the Higgs boson and familiarize themselves with the structure of the proton. At the end of each day, we will have a video conference with the University of Bern, where the participants will discuss and combine the results.”
Lectures from active scientists give insight in topics and methods of basic research at the fundaments of matter and forces, enabling the students to perform measurements on real data from particle physics experiments themselves.
Giorgi Asatiani, a pupil of Komarov Tbilisi School of Physics and Mathematics, who also participated in the International Masterclasses, is interested in elementary particle physics and plans to enroll in the physics program of TSU. “I have learnt a lot about CERN. I am interested in elementary particle physics and I plan to follow this direction. Noteworthy that this program has largely determined my decision,” Giorgi Asatiani said.
ATLAS, one of the particle detector experiments constructed at the Large Hadron Collider, have made data available for educational use for the International Masterclasses. Students can perform measurements on real data from particle physics experiments at CERN, rediscover the Z boson or the structure of the proton, reconstruct “strange particles” or measure the lifetime of the D0 particle. One of the highlights is of course the hunt for Higgs bosons. ATLAS and CMS have made available real Higgs candidate events for students to track this rare, elusive, and very short-lived particle.
On March 6 and 10, along with TSU, the International Masterclasses are being held at various leading universities worldwide. At the end of each day, like in an international research collaboration, the participants join in a video conference for discussion and combination of their results. Certificates of participation in the International Masterclasses will be awarded to students by the end of the event.
Video conferences were successfully held during the opening event with the support of the TSU Distance Learning Center.
