Investigations in High Energy Physics

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the research activities of Professors Ayres Freitas and Adam Leibovich at the University of Pittsburgh. As part of their research, Professors Freitas and Leibovich aim to develop improved theoretical tools and calculational methods for the robust interpretation of results from current and future particle-physics experiments, both at the highest-energy colliders and at dedicated experiments searching for dark matter. In particular, they will develop advanced techniques for identifying a potentially small new physics signal --- an endeavor that requires an extremely precise understanding of known particles and interactions. Furthermore, Professors Freitas and Leibovich will investigate the phenomenological implications of various types of dark-matter models, with particular attention to scenarios that will be extremely difficult to probe in most search experiments. To constrain these models, it is therefore crucial to combine laboratory searches with constraints from astrophysics and cosmology. As such, research in this area advances the national interest by fostering the development of basic science within the United States and expanding our knowledge of fundamental physical laws. This project will also involve educating several PhD students and a postdoctoral researcher in cutting-edge calculational and analysis tools. Professors Freitas and Leibovich also plan to work closely with astrophysicists and high-energy experimentalists to develop new search and analysis strategies that will aid in the search for new physics and improve the precision and theoretical robustness of our present understanding. Professors Freitas and Leibovich will also help to organize workshops and summer schools to disseminate results from modern research to a larger audience of students and young researchers. More technically, the research program of Professors Freitas and Leibovich can be divided into three main parts: (1) The development of calculational techniques for higher-order corrections to electroweak precision observables which are relevant for planned future e+e- colliders as well as for several low-energy precision experiments currently in development at Jefferson Laboratory and the MESA accelerator; (2) The application of effective field theories, in particular Soft-Collinear Effective Theory, for production of jets at the Large Hadron Collider, fragmentation of partons into hadrons, and new physics signatures; and (3) An investigation of a varied class of dark-sector extensions of the Standard Model, including light weakly coupled messenger fields that could be more efficiently probed with non-traditional experimental setups rather than at high-energy colliders. This research plan is guided by ongoing and planned experimental particle-physics efforts, and results will be made available to the experimental community in a suitable form. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.