The Forward Search Experiment at the LHC (FASER) aims to study the properties of collider neutrinos and search for new physics phenomena. Collider neutrinos allow us to peer into the physics of proton-proton collisions in the very forward direction. Their dynamics are not well understood or constrained, which is relevant for improved studies of cosmic rays and physics at a future proton-proton collider with very high center-of-mass energies. Due to its location, FASER can also search for long-lived particles, which might be produced from the large number of particles generated in the very forward direction. Located 500 meters downstream from the ATLAS collision point and shielded by 100 meters of rock, FASER is capable of discovering signatures such as dark photons decaying back into visible matter. I will present the current status and showcase the first physics results from both of these exciting topics
Short Introduction: Florian Bernlochner is a professor for experimental physics at the University of Bonn. He joined the FASER experiment in 2019. His research group contributed significantly to the commissioning of the tracker system and its alignment, and the development of the offline reconstruction. The group also contributed substantially to the first direct observation of collider neutrinos in spring 2023. He is also a member of the Belle II and ATLAS experiment, where he carries out precision studies of flavor universality, determinations of CKM matrix elements, and studies the Higgs boson.
