I. Reed: Searches for Expected and Unexpected Particles Using Photons at the Large Hadron Collider

The discovery of the Higgs boson completed the Standard Model. Studies of the Higgs boson self interaction are well motivated to improve the understanding of the Standard Model, and as a window to explore new physics. The Compact Muon Solenoid is well equipped to look for these signals using the di-photon leg of the Higgs decays. Searches for both expected Standard Model production and several Beyond the Standard Model models are presented. A specific search for millicharged particles was conducted using the newly built MilliQan detector. A path towards an upgrade to the Large Hadron Collider and Compact Muon Solenoid is explored, which are necessary to better search for new physics.