Research Overview

My research spans aspects of particle physics and accelerator physics across a range of energies.

At very high-energy scales, I have contributed to the design of proposed next-generation colliders such as the ILC (International Linear Collider) where I have worked with colleagues on the tricky problem of delivering high intensities of positrons (anti-electrons). I am currently contributing to a range of high-energy colliders including the electron-ion collider (EIC) and Large Hadron Electron Collider (LHeC).

At more modest energy scales, the search for new physical phenomena can be carried out indirectly by the precise measurent of fundamental properties of particles, such as the measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon at Fermilab g-2 where I study the dynamics of muons in particle beams or PSI muon EDM where measurements of the electric dipole moment of the muon are planned.

More recently I have focussed on studying the beam dynamics in free-electron lasers and the challenges of mitigating unwanted micro-bunching instabilities in the particle beamlines.

At even lower energies, low-mass hidden sector particles (possible constituents of the galactic dark matter halo) can manifest themselves as oscillatory microwave signals. As a member of the QSHS collaboration, I am developing an analysis to apply quantum technologies to the search for light dark matter particles such as axions and dark photons.

Additional Information

Why physics?

Physics consists of a series of puzzles and speculative scenarios that both delight and frustrate us, until, through a process difficult to define, they reveal hints of reality and our own role in it. Almost any recreational or creative human pursuit provides evidence of humanity's need to solve puzzles or create them for others. Moreover, our empirical understanding of the world around us is founded on puzzling: a sifting of information in the search for patterns. Not knowing the underlying causes of what we observe apriori, we are forced to induce the most likely causes and use this as the basis of future prediction. Critically, the extent to which we can be confident in our models of reality does not depend solely on subjective debate; it can be quantified objectively from the data.

Developing models of reality validated by experiment leads us to insights that expose the hidden connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena and enhance our appreciation of the beauty of the Universe we inhabit. Even over an entire lifetime the amount of original knowledge we assimilate in this way may be small, but it is intrinsically precious.

Physics well-directed has the capacity to help provide solutions to some of the problems faced by humanity today and in the near future, but this is not its exclusive purpose. Given room to flourish undirected, physics also has the potential to incisively challenge our understanding and transform our tomorrows.

Web Links

http://www.cockcroft.ac.uk/

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ian_Bailey3

http://www.researcherid.com/rid/C-4011-2012

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8020-3662

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/ianrbailey

Current Teaching

In this academic year I am teaching our second year courses in relativity and in Fourier analysis, and providing support for our third year student learning problem-solving skills for the general physics paper. I am also teaching a graduate course on particle beam dynamics.

My recent teaching includes undergraduate courses in differential equations and series, computer modelling (in both Python and Java), nuclear and particle physics, and accelerator physics. My recent administative duties include being a deputy admissions tutor in the department liasing with both UK and international students, coordinating the postgraduate teaching assistants in the physics department, and managing the OpenPlus degree scheme through which students could previously enter Lancaster University from the Open University.

PhD Supervision Interests

1) Intriguingly, there may be low-mass (sub-eV) particles in our Universe that have so far escaped detection. Dark matter haloscopes and light shining through a wall (LSW) experiments are possible techniques for looking for particles such as the elusive axion (which is motivated by the solution to the 'strong CP problem'). PhD projects are available in the design, construction and analysis of data from innovative small-scale experiments searching for hidden-sector photons, axions and axion-like particles as part of the QSHS collaboration. 2) X-ray free electron lasers produce intense soft and hard x-rays which are used by a wide range of researchers and industries. For examples they can be used to map the atomic details of viruses, take three-dimensional images of nano-scale devices, film chemical reactions on femtosecond timescales, and study exotic processes such as the formation of diamonds on ice planets. PhD projects are available on the design of future x-ray free electron laser facilities supported by simulations of particle beam dynamics critical for the efficient production of intense x-rays.