CMS Experiment

The Compact Muon Solenoid is a general purpose detector at LHC. It is designed to search for new physics phenomena and perform precision measurements of the Standard Model of particle physics. Billions of protons accelerated by the LHC collide each second inside the CMS magnetic field. At every collision, new particles are created, identified and measured, providing physicists with an unprecedented amount of data that may contain the answers to open questions about the nature of our universe.

The heart of the CMS detector is a giant superconducting solenoid, capable of providing a uniform magnetic field of almost 4 Tesla around the proton-proton collision point. Particle trajectories and energies are measured by the tracking system and the calorimeters inside the magnet, while muons, which are able toescape almost undisturbed, are identified and measured by muon detectors outside the solenoid. Selected events are sent to the computing grid, a worldwide system of interconnected computing and storage centers, which physicists can use to analyse CMS data from their desktop computer.

CMS Bologna group contributed to the design and construction of the muon detectors of CMS for the central region, which covers more than a thousand square meters and provides information for the triggering and the reconstruction of muons. Our experts continue today to ensure the operation and development of muon detector, trigger and software for the reconstruction, measuring its performance to ensure everything is in the best shape.

Central among the group activities are physics analyses. In the Higgs sector, we collaborate to measurements of the Standard Model Higgs boson properties and to the search for new Higgs bosons, predicted by theories beyond the Standard Model. Muons are important signatures for such measurements. We are also interested in the top quark, and we focus on hadronic final states, a very challenging task in the LHC environment, because of large background from QCD processes.

A leading role is being played also in CMS Software and Computing in the context of its infrastructure and operation. We are actively investigating the use of new approaches, such as Machine Learning and Deep Learning techniques, for the improvement of physics analyses and of CMS trigger and reconstruction algorithms.

Finally, we are working on the upgrade of the detector: the High Luminosity LHC project, set to start in 2026, will further increase the number of collisions that the machine will be able to produce for the experiments to observe. To cope with these new conditions, we are designing new muon trigger algorithms and electronics, to ensure our beautiful detector will provide excellent physics data for many years to come.

DIFA staff members

Daniele Bonacorsi

Full Professor

Marco Cuffiani

Associate Professor

Alessandra Fanfani

Associate Professor

Luigi Guiducci

Associate Professor

Tiziano Rovelli

Associate Professor

Gian Piero Siroli

Assistant professor

DIFA post-doc and PhD students

Carlo Battilana

Senior assistant professor (fixed-term)

Tommaso Diotalevi

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

Leonardo Lunerti

Teaching tutor

Federica Primavera

Adjunct professor

INFN MEMBERS

COLLABORATORS AT ENEA

  • Sergio Lo Meo

Photo gallery

CMS people

(credits to © 2012 CERN )

Students visiting the CMS Detector

Data analysis in Higgs Physics

(credits to © 2019 CERN )

Data analysis in Top Physics

Machine and Deep Learning applied to Physics

Muon detector and muon reconstruction performances

(credits to © 2008 CERN)

Developing electronics for the CMS Muon trigger system and its Upgrade to sustain very high collisions rate foreseen from 2026