The strong force differs from the other three fundamental forces in exhibiting the property of confinement: it prevents quarks from existing in unbound states. Despite 30 years of theoretical effort, the basis of the confinement mechanism is still a matter of conjecture. One way that experimentalists can address this question is to map the shape of the strong potential over the broadest possible range. A variety of models, some QCD-inspired and some not, have been proposed to describe the strong potential. Families of bound states of unlike heavy quarks provide a unique laboratory for extracting the form of the strong potential. These states will be produced in significant numbers for the first time at the Large Hadron Collider. I will describe our preparations to use data from the ATLAS Experiment to measure masses of the excited Bc mesons; from these, the shape of the Strong Potential may then be inferred.
A get-together will be held afterwards with refreshments
