Bulletin No. 2, 2012

26 Chinese University Bulletin No. 2, 2012 Professor Chu explained, ‘The scientists at CERN would then have to measure the ratio of the different ways of decay of this Higgs-like particle, to see whether the particle is the same as the standard model Higgs. So they need to conduct more experiments to see all the decay modes of the particle. If the Higgs particle is indeed found, there are still quite a bit of other new physics phenomena that they are looking for at CERN. The most immediate is to test the theory of supersymmetry, which predicts a new class of particles called supersymmetric partners. If they cannot find these particles within the next few years, then the theory of supersymmetry will be in serious trouble, and so will many grand unified theories based on it. If they find these supersymmetric partners, it will be important to characterize them. They may be the so- called “dark matter” of the universe, and their properties have great significance to astrophysics and cosmology as well.’ In Quest of Neutrino Professor Chu is also the leader of the Hong Kong part of an international team in the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, which comprises 230 scientists from 39 institutes in China, the US, Taiwan, Russia and the Czech Republic. The Daya Bay Experiment will help to answer some of the most puzzling questions about neutrinos. Professor Chu said, ‘Neutrinos are uncharged particles produced in nuclear reactions and are The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment Research Team comprises top scientists from all over the world who call themselves the ‘ghostbusters’.