CutLang as an Analysis Description Language for Introducing Students to Analyses in Particle Physics

TL;DR

This paper discusses the use of CutLang, an Analysis Description Language and runtime interpreter, to teach undergraduate and graduate students particle physics data analysis through hands-on exercises with simulated collider data.

Contribution

It introduces CutLang as an accessible tool for teaching particle physics analysis, enabling students to reproduce real analyses efficiently.

Findings

Students successfully reproduced analyses from ATLAS and CMS experiments.

CutLang facilitated hands-on learning in a short time frame.

The approach improved student understanding of collider data analysis.

Abstract

The fifth edition of the "Computing Applications in Particle Physics" school was held on 3-7 February 2020, at Istanbul University, Turkey. This particular edition focused on the processing of simulated data from the Large Hadron Collider collisions using an Analysis Description Language and its runtime interpreter called CutLang. 24 undergraduate and 6 graduate students were initiated to collider data analysis during the school. After 3 days of lectures and exercises, the students were grouped into teams of 3 or 4 and each team was assigned an analysis publication from ATLAS or CMS experiments. After 1.5 days of independent study, each team was able to reproduce the assigned analysis using CutLang.