Page 12 - Eureka-2013

physics.carleton.ca Physics

By Susan Hickman

arleton’s physicists have always extremely rare double beta decay
Cbeen at the forefront of innovative of Xenon-136. EXO is probing new
research, recognized globally for their physics, attempting to determine
intensive work in two important areas if the elusive neutrino is its own
– particle physics and medical physics. anti-particle and to make a definitive
Concentrating in these areas has measurement of the neutrino’s tiny
been one of the physics department’s mass.
strengths. The Carleton EXO group, led by
The departments’s involvement physicists David Sinclair and Kevin
with the large collaborative ATLAS Graham, is spearheading aspects of
experiment, now led by Professor development of a new, large-scale
Manuella Vincter, after former leader Xenon-136 detector, which could
Gerald Oakham took on the post of be ideally located in the Sudbury
departmental chair this summer, Neutrino Observatory (SNO) deep-
has also been well known. The underground laboratory.
photo: Luther Caverly particle physicists work in tandem unveiled its cosmic ray inspection
The department also recently
department’s supporting theoretical
with the experimental group in
and passive tomography (CRIPT)
addressing such fundamental issues
system, a large detector that will use
Professor Rowan Thomson, who is also a Canada as understanding the origin of mass high-energy cosmic ray muons to scan
containers for radioactive material, to
and what makes up the universe.
Research Chair in Radiotherapy Physics, studied at The Carleton ATLAS team detect magma flows under volcanoes
Carleton before joining its faculty ranks.
developed, constructed and tested and to monitor nuclear waste tanks.
detector modules for the forward The three-year CRIPT project, led by
calorimeters, which gathered physicist John Armitage, was funded
data between 2008 and 2012 as by a federal grant from Defence
part of the ATLAS experiment at Research and Development Canada’s
the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Centre for Security Science.
particle accelerator at the European The medical physics group, which
Organization for Nuclear Research carries on its research on campus,
(CERN) laboratory in Switzerland, as well as at local hospitals and
contributing to the discovery of the other external medical facilities, is
Higgs particle in the summer of 2012. able to network proactively with
Data-taking will resume next year the community through the Ottawa
with an upgraded accelerator. Medical Physics Institute located at
Earlier this year, the Enriched Carleton. Its doctorate program was
Xenon Observatory (EXO) the first in the province to be formally
collaboration group at Carleton accredited by the Commission on
contributed key elements to the the Accreditation of Medical Physics
world’s leading measurement of the Educational Programs.

12 Summer 2013