#21 What is the size of the top quark?

In the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, all elementary particles are taken as dimensionless – they should be point-like, and have no structure whatsoever. But this is a theoretical assumption, which must be confronted with experimental data.

Due to its large mass, the top quark is the most likely candidate to be probed to test this assumption – the LHC has undertaken exhaustive measurements of the properties of this particle, and upper limits on its size can be established. In this project, students will review existing literature on the experiments probing the top quark and deduce limits on its size. If progress is good, students may even attempt to derive such limits in models beyond the SM.

Requirements: good dominion of numerical skills (Python or Matlab, for instance). Minimum 3rd year students, so that at least they have knowledge of Quantum Mechanics – but 2nd year students will be able to understand and follow the project. Master students would get the most of it.